The Bridge, September 17, 2015

MONTPELIER —Working in the produce department at the Hunger Mountain Coop, my colleagues and I have a singular view of the seasons that revolves around the fruits and vegetables we see everyday. For many people, this is the end of summer. For us, it’s the end of local watermelon and Amish peach season, and the beginning of the most prestigious and diverse season of them all: apple season. With a mapped genome of over 57,000 genes, the apple has almost twice as many genes as you or I (humans have just 30,000 genes). This leaves a lot of room for variance in flavor, color, shape, size, texture and nutritional content.

At the co-op, we’ll see some 70 varieties of apple come and go over the next couple of months, each with its own unique appear-ance, flavor profile, purpose and name. The naming of apples is a story in itself — where do all these names come from? Some are easy to guess: Ginger Gold and Honeycrisp are dead giveaways, but what is a Gravenstein? Where is Cortland?

We actually sell a book by Calais author Rowan Jacobsen called “Apples of Uncom-mon Character: 123 Heirlooms, Modern Classics, and Little-Known Wonders.” It’s a pretty big deal. Spoiler Alert: Gravenstein is the German name for the Danish town of Gråsten where the apple tree either first sprouted in 1669 or was brought from Italy as a gift unto the Duke of Gravenstein. It’s the National Apple of Denmark as of 2005. And Cortland is a county in New York, near the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva where it was cultivated in 1889. A cross between the McIntosh and the Ben Davis apple, it’s got a bright flavor and softer flesh that does best in desserts and

sauces, but is considered an eating apple now in September.

Which brings up an important aspect of any apple: its purpose (or prefered means of human consumption). What is it good for? Eating, cooking or cider are the usual des-ignations. Eating apples are typically sweet and crisp. Who likes a mouth full of mushy apple? Well … that’s a trick question, people who like applesauce do, and that’s why Cor-tlands rank in the top 15 for sales in the U.S. — it’s used mostly as a “cooking” or “baking apple.”

So what are the good Vermont eating apples? Good is a relative term, but based on things like sales, prices, word of mouth and crazed customer interaction, we have a pretty good idea. The aptly named Empire is, and has been, the Co-op’s best selling apple for a number of years. That’s got to be my favorite detail of all — someone had the confidence to just come right out and declare this apple’s destiny — ‘this apple will be an Empire.’ It’s actually a hybrid of a McIntosh and a Red Delicious, so it has almost a perfect ratio of firmness, sweetness, tartness and storage capability.

Robert Kirigin, produce manager at Hun-ger Mountain Coop for over 20 years, tells us that the Honeycrisp (a newer variety) is the second best-selling apple at the co-op, which is quite a feat given its much shorter availability. Whereas local Empires are avail-

able (literally) every day of the year, we only see Honeycrisp for a few months, in which time they generate enough sales to put them squarely on top of Macouns (the co-op’s number-three apple) and Cortlands and Macs (which are tied for fourth and typically around most of the year).

So where do all these apples come from? The co-op, like most eco-conscious apple retail-ers, get their apples from three sources: Scott Farm and Dwight Miller Orchards down in Dummerston and Champlain Orchards of Shoreham.

Scott Farm grows over a 100 varieties of apple its orchardist, Ezekiel Goodband, is a legend in his own right. The 62-year-old Goodband, or ‘Zeke’ as he is known throughout the state (and nation after gain-ing a well deserved spot on NPR last year) has been the orchard manager at Scott Farm for almost 15 years. The previous orchard-ist, a man by the name of Fred Holbrook, grew McIntosh almost exclusively and it is through these trees that Goodband has successfully grafted so many varieties of heirlooms.

Kirigin tells us Zeke “tries to sell out by Thanksgiving before the apples start to lose any of their amazing flavors … We buy almost exclusively from Scott Farm from August to November and then switch over to Champlain Orchard when Scott Farm runs out of apples.”

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H o m e C o o k e d T e m p t a t i o n s a t H e l ' s K i t c h e n — p a g e 1 3

September 17 – September 30, 2015

About Apples: A Fruit’s Eye View of the World by Garrett Heaney

IN THIS ISSUE:

4: One Taylor StreetDevelopment Hits Snag

9: Joe's Soup

10: Hands-on Gardener

12: The End of Foodies?

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Artwork by Auto Heaney

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PAGE 2 • SEPTEMBER 17 – SEPTEMBER 30 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

Time for Hawk Migration

Made my annual trip to Putney Mountain for Hawk Watch last Saturday, trying to hit a good migration. That is, wind, but not from the south. Enough sun to create thermal rises for hawks to circle up, up, up. Then, at the top of the

thermal, for them to soar or "stream" out south until, losing altitude, they pick up another thermal. We arrived at noon and in the next three hours over 300 hawks, most of them Broad-winged hawks, went over, after weeks of only a few birds a day. Google Putney Mountain Hawk Watch for more. On Tuesday, they counted over a thousand!

Nature Watch by Nona Estrin

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THE BR IDGE SEPTEMBER 17 – SEPTEMBER 30 , 2015 • PAGE 3

Spike in Bike and Motorcycle Deaths Prompts Call for ActionThe Vermont Highway Safety Alliance and concerned organizations such as the Burlington-based Local Motion and others are putting out an urgent call for increased road safety awareness with urgent attention to the safety of bicyclists and motorcyclists.

A press release from the Vermont Highway Safety Alliance cites these sobering statistics:

First, some history: in the 10 years before the start of 2015, only one bicyclist in Vermont was killed in a road accident. But in the first eight months of 2015 — already there have been four bicycle-related fatalities here.

The statistic for motorcycle deaths is just as grim. According to the Safety Alliance, in a typi-cal year there are roughly nine motorcycle deaths. Already during 2015 with four months to go in the calendar year, there have been nine motorcycle fatalities.

As part of a statewide call to action from the Vermont Highway Safety Alliance, the non-profit organization Local Motion and other concerned groups, there will be a “Rally for Safe Roads in Montpelier on Friday, September 25 at 5:30 p.m. on the State House lawn.

That rally will be headlined by Lt. Governor Phil Scott and will provide an opportunity to hear from legislative and agency leaders and the general public about ideas and proposals for improving road and street safety.

In announcing the Rally for Safe Roads, the organizers asked this question: “Can we get 500 people on the State House lawn?” Then they exhorted: “Join the call for safe roads for everyone — walking, biking, driving, riding a horse, crossing the road in a snowmobile — you name it.”

Rialto Bridge RepairsMONTPELIER — Starting September 9, structural repairs will begin on the Rialto Bridge, next to Capital Grounds. It is anticipated that this work will be completed by the end of this month. During this time, the contractor (Blow & Cote Construction) will use two to three parking spaces along the bridge for the staging of equipment. Pedestrians on the bridge can anticipate some noise from a generator and some muffled noises from below the bridge. Ad-ditionally, during the project, the contractor will need to core some small holes through the top of the bridge to pour concrete. During this work, the bridge will remain open and safe for all pedestrian, bike and vehicular traffic.

Unitarian Church Calls New Minister MONTPELIER — The members of the Unitarian Church welcome The Rev. Joan Javier-Duval as their minister at an ingathering service and water ceremony September 13. The church members called Javier-Duval in a majority vote this spring. She began serving Au-gust 1.

As she took up her duties, Javier-Duval said, “It is an honor to have been called to serve this historic, liberal religious community in the heart of Montpelier. It is a momentous time to begin my ministry at the Unitarian Church of Montpelier as we celebrate our 150th anniversary and reflect on our vision for the future.”

Javier-Duval was raised in Chicago as part of a large Filipino family. She attended Swarth-more College, leading to a career in advocacy and political organizing in Washington, D.C. While attending All Souls Church, Unitarian D.C., she felt a deep call to bridge her faith with her passion for social justice through Unitarian Universalist ministry. She enrolled at Yale Divinity School where she received her Masters of Divinity. She served an internship and consulting ministry at the Unitarian Society of Germantown, Pennsylvania and has supplied pulpits across New England during the past few years.

Joan, her husband, Jared Duval, (a ninth-generation Vermonter) and their son moved to Montpelier in August 2014.

Javier-Duval is described as a warm pastor, a strong and collaborative leader with a passion for community engagement and social justice. In one of her first acts as minister, Javier-Duval led a vigil on the steps of the church in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign reminding us that all can play a role in combating racism and violence.

You can find out more about the church at www.ucmvt.org or call the church office at 223-7861.

Love Poetry Contest To Be Held MONTPELIER — Lost Nation Theater is very excited to offer a Poem Writing Contest for high school students and the general community. This is not just any poem-writing contest — it's a love poem writing contest in honor of our 20th Anniversary production of its first fall foliage Shakespeare performance of As You Like It.

Send your creation in any form — ballad, ode, sonnet, free verse — by midnight, Septem-ber 20, to: [email protected]

Please identify your submission by name, participating school, and/or community.

Fifteen poems will be chosen, one for each performance of As You Like It, and each win-ning poet will be invited to read his or her work at one of those performances. Seven poems will be selected from the entries of high school students from seven central Vermont high schools, and seven poems will be selected from the submissions received from the general public. One poem will be selected from Norwich University submissions. If a poet prefers not to read their own work, a Lost Nation Theater actor will read their poem for them.

Ninth Annual Apples to iPods Contest Kicks Off a Banner Apple Harvest

MONTPELIER — In preparation for a banner year, Vermont's pick-your-own orchards will offer a chance to win an Apple product during the "Apples to iPods" promotion that started September 14.

“We're looking at one of the best crops in years — possibly topping one million bushels,” said Steve Justis, executive director of the Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association. “We had heavy rain early in the season, but the honeybees stepped up to provide excellent pol-

lination and fruit set. The rest of the summer has given us excellent growing conditions.”

Justis went on to say the annual Apples to iPods contest has been an effective promotion for Vermont’s apple industry.

"Our growers really love the Apples to iPods program,” he said. “For the past several years, the program has encouraged families — especially teens — to visit, explore and pick apples."

In this technology-meets-agriculture contest, one specially-marked wooden apple is hidden in an apple tree at 24 Vermont pick-your-own apple orchards. The lucky picker who finds a wooden apple wins a randomly selected Apple iPod, iPod Shuffle or iPad.

The state first launched this promotion in 2007 to encourage people to visit pick-your-own orchards. Vermont's nearly 4,000 acres of commercial apple orchards produce leading apple varieties: McIntosh, Cortland, Red Delicious and Empire. In 1999, the legislature designated the apple as the state fruit, and the apple pie as the state pie.

"Apple picking is a family tradition. In true Vermont fashion, the Apples to iPods contest makes this fall event even more fun for families," said Megan Smith, commissioner for the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing. "Visiting an orchard is the perfect way to experience Vermont's gorgeous autumn landscape and participate in a festive and family-friendly activity."

In addition people and groups are invited to visit a participating orchard to purchase extra apples to donate to the Vermont Foodbank. Since 2009, this event made nearly 63,500 pounds of apples available to Vermonters in need.

For a list of participating orchards, please visit www.applestoipods.com.

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MONTPELIER — Montpelier Beverage building owners are crying “foul” over a recent move by Montpelier City Council to start condemnation proceedings for the structure located at 12 Main Street. How-ever, the building thwarts what city offi-cials say is the safest route to get a new pro-posed bike path across Main Street without creating a more dangerous intersection at a spot already declared a “failed intersection” by the Vermont Agency of Transportation.

Currently the bike path does not com-pletely go through town. It drops off at either side of the center of town. On one side it goes from a point behind the De-partment of Labor building and ends at an empty parking lot near the proposed One Taylor Street Transit Center behind the Capitol Plaza. The bike path picks up again on the other side of the North Branch river and across Main Street to a point behind Barre Street, across from the Montpelier Senior Activity Center. And, in between, bicyclists must make their way on the streets, parking lots and back alleys.

The completed bike path as conceived would bring cyclists from behind the Capi-tol Plaza, across the river behind Shaw’s, and would require moving the one-story Montpelier Beverage building to the adja-cent vacant lot (tearing down and rebuild-ing), directing bikes around the existing building or condemning the building and taking it by eminent domain. In conversa-tions that unfolded, it became clear the first option might be too expensive (if done

the way city council endorses, requiring a second story rather than single story), the second one might be unsafe creating further complications at an already failed intersection, which leads to the third op-tion of condemnation.

Jay White, spokesperson and co-trustee with the Mowatt Trust (set up to control the interests of the building that houses Montpelier Beverage) claims the city is going back on an agreement signed last year to help the trust relocate the building to the vacant lot immediately next to the existing structure.

The city agreed to pursue a one story building, City Manager William Fraser told The Bridge in a recent telephone inter-view. After that agreement was signed in February 2014, it was noted the one-story would require a variance. “The agreement did not work because we could not agree on a price for the current property. A one story building is not permitted under the city’s zoning and would require a variance in order to proceed,” wrote City Man-ager William Fraser in an e-mail to The Bridge. He further explained by phone that one of the city council’s goals is to have high density development downtown, which means taller buildings with more units rather than sprawled out single story buildings. Therefore, the council changed its position, and decided to pursue eminent domain hearings. This move is much to the chagrin of White, who is hoping to get a large turnout of supporters at the con-

demnation hearing to be held at the city council meeting September 23.

Q & A between Nat Frothingham, Carla Occaso and Jay White by telephone Sep-tember 4:

Nat Frothingham: I guess there are ne-gotiations going forward with the city of Montpelier about their plan to run a bike path across the footprint of your store in Montpelier, is that right?

Jay White: At the moment, that is correct.

Frothingham: Where are the negotiations at the moment?

White: The only thing I can say about that is that on September 23 the city council will hold an evidentiary hearing to listen to testimony regarding their plans for the bike path. I believe it is their intention to go forward with the hearing and then shortly after the council will vote to proceed with an article of condemnation. Whether they actually file that with the court, we don’t know.

Frothingham: I don’t know how long M&M has been in place there, but cer-tainly it has been in place there for as long as I’ve lived in town and I’ve lived in town for 35 years.

White: It has been in business since 1979. My late employer, Thomas Mowatt, passed away in 1991. He started the business with his partner, Gilles Morrow. That is where the name came from, M&M beverage.

Gilles Morrow was Tom Mowatt’s general manager who ran and operated M&M Beverage. Morrow purchased the business outright from Mr. Mowatt in 1990. And he continued to operate the store up until about seven years ago. The Mowatt Trust was created for Mr. Mowatt’s family and the real estate went into that trust. In 2007 Gilles sold the business to Farogh A. Wien who operates it now under the name Mont-pelier Beverage.

Frothingham: One of my concerns is that you have been operating that business since 1979. That has to have a value. How do they figure that out? Do they get an out-side appraiser to figure that out?

White: I suspect on September 23, part of the discussion will be the city has arrived at a number to condemn the property. They have to condemn the property and the business. Ruby (Farogh A. Wein) has told me nobody has contacted him to do an appraisal on his business. They’ll talk about what is the tax assessed value on the property and maybe the appraisal that they had done a year or two ago. Let me explain something. The law “eminent domain” is kind of interesting. The city or municipal-ity can make a claim. They have to go to superior court and go before a judge since they are doing a public project. It could be a bike path, it could be a fire station or police station, whatever, “therefore we need this land.” The proof of burden falls to the landowner not the municipality. Well, you know, money doesn’t grow on trees. This

One Taylor Street Development Plans Hit SnagCity Moves to Condemn Montpelier Beverage Buildingby Carla Occaso and Nat Frothingham

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puts us in a difficult situation because we are the ones who have to go out and hire the attorneys and the expert witnesses.

Now the mayor of the city of Montpelier, by the name of John Hollar, just happens to be an attorney that works for the largest law firm in Vermont: Downs, Rachlin and Martin. So, John just figures, well, he may just pick up a little bit of bad PR on this thing, but we are the ones who are going to have to shell out some serious money to fight this. And, as they did with Alan Carr two years ago, the city council voted for condemnation, but they never filed with the court. Once they voted to do that, they turned around and said to Mr. Carr, “Look, you either negotiate with us, enter into some negotiations, or we will file. And that is what Alan did. He entered into negotiations. They actually never filed the article of condemnation.

Occaso: Who are the other trustees?

White: The Mowatt Trust owns the prop-erty. I am a trustee of that trust. I am a co-trustee. The other co-trustee is Conrad L. White. It happens to be my father. And then Thomas Mowatt’s son, Thomas A. Mowatt.

This thing has been going on for 15 years. It took 13 years (or approximately that long) for the city to acquire the Carr prop-erty. (Then they acquired) the two other properties beside the Montpelier Beverage. The former Mathew Lot, which is a vacant parking lot, and the building immedi-ately behind Montpelier Beverage, which was the Vermont Association of the Blind building.

Years ago, when I was first contacted about the project, I said to the city, “Look, guys, I am really not interested in selling the prop-erty. However, I want to work with you, let’s see if we can do something special. It is easy enough for us to build another

building where the former Mathews lot is located, you could get your roadway and your parking lot, which is out behind Au-buchon’s. And then you could do the bike path. They thought that was a good idea. So, I started looking into that. And there’s an ordinance in the city of Montpelier that requires a multi-story structure on Main Street. You can’t build a single story. So immediately I said, “Look guys, we’re going to have a problem. The cost of build-ing a multi-story structure on a very small footprint is going to make it very difficult for us to finance. We went through all the work and the effort, designed the building, and it approximately came in at $1.4 mil-lion. A building that only has 2,000 square feet, you can’t make that work.

We’ve all known for a long time that the city would have to help make this happen. And then, the mayor called me a month and a half ago and said, “Look Jay, we re-ally don’t have any funds to put into the project.”

My response to John Hollar was, “Okay, John, since there is no money to invest in this, let's go back to a single story structure. Now the single story structure required the Mowatt Trust to gain a vari-ance in order to do that. But, we had our attorneys look into that and they said there is a good chance we can get a variance, so, not only did I feel comfortable with that, but we have an agreement with the city. We have a signed (agreement) with William J. Fraser’s signature on it. It was done in Feb-ruary 17 of 2014. And the council and the mayor have decided that contract doesn’t mean anything. And at the moment they aren’t giving us the opportunity to even go to the Design Review Committee or Development Review Board to look at a single-story structure. Today our choices are to either build a multi story building, which we can’t do or face condemnation.

Q & A between Nat Frothingham, Carla Occaso and Mayor John Hollar in person at The Bridge office September 8:

Nat Frothingham: We have interviewed Jay White a spokesman for the Mowatt Trust. He was vehement about certain things (concerning the condemnation pro-ceedings).

Hollar: Here’s the challenge. The city council will be acting as essentially the judicial body in deciding whether to go forward with the condemnation of that parcel. I am not able to talk about specific facts to that because we have to act as a neutral arbitrator — hearing the evidence and making a determination. So, I think that what you need, what I would ask you to do is to talk to Bill Fraser and his staff. They will be presenting the city’s case for why that condemnation should go forward. But as a member of the council, chairing that council, I have to hear the evidence that is submitted both by Mr. White along with the council, and then decide along with the rest of the council whether to go forward with the proposed condemnation. There is just not much I can say about it because we are in this quasi-judicial role.

Carla Occaso: Who proposed condemna-tion?

Hollar: Well, you know, it is a bit of a

unique process because the city council has to at least say we know enough where we’ve got to go forward with this. We haven’t made a final decision, but we have to move forward. So, it is unlike most judi-cial proceedings where the judge would be completely independent and they just hear the case. In this case the council did have some role in saying, “Yes, we think there is enough evidence here to suggest that we ought to go forward with this presentation. But ultimately, it is the responsibility of the staff to present the case to the council. So the council hasn’t made a final judgement about whether or not to actually approve the condemnation.

Occaso: The last time we talked to Bill Fraser about One Taylor, condemnation wasn’t on the table. This was in early June.

Hollar: I don’t know when the council agreed to go forward with this process.

Occaso: It would be in council minutes?

Hollar: You could call Sandy Pitonyak, she is the assistant to the city manager. She might be able to give you that date.

BERLIN — The annual Ibex tent sale is a must for thousands each fall, and folks come from far and wide for the quality clothing at drastically reduced prices. Historically, the sale took place in Quechee Vermont, and last year, at Suicide Six. All that is about to change as Montpelier’s local sports authority, Onion River Sports, will host the sale this year in their warehouse in Berlin.

The team at Onion River Sports is working with the folks at IBEX to bring over 7,000 pieces of clothing to central Vermont for the sale Columbus Day weekend, Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the past, people have been known to camp out, awaiting the opening of the doors, and the Onion River Sports staff is gearing up for more than just the sale, which will include activities and food.

Ibex Outdoor Clothing is a wool clothing company with a concentration on natural fibers known for durability, catering to the modern and active person. The sale will fea-ture discontinued and closeout items and samples including woolies and jersey fashion pieces, items that Ibex is famous for.

It will be a progressive sale with the sales getting better and better. Many shop on the first day of the sale to ensure they see it all and have their first pick of sizes, and then return on Sunday for even bigger mark downs. Most items will be 30 to 65 percent off but some items will be marked down as much as 75 percent. The organizers are encouraging people to come early and to “be green and carpool.”

Onion River Sports has long had a warehouse in Berlin where they conduct their inter-net business, and now, this year’s Ibex warehouse sale. In addition to the Ibex inven-tory, Onion River Sports will also feature sales of up to 40 percent off on prior seasons cross-country skis, snowshoes and equipment. "We're excited about this opportunity to partner with Ibex. Onion River is used to putting on some large events, but this one will dwarf them all. This will be a huge event for ORS, our patrons and hopefully Central Vermont," says Andrew Brewer, owner of Onion River Sports, Onion River Kids and The Shoe Horn in Montpelier.

Onion River Hosts Ibex Sale at Berlin Warehouse by Ashley Witzenberger

Continued on Page 6


One Taylor Street Development Plans Hit SnagCity Moves to Condemn Montpelier Beverage Building Continued from Page 5

Occaso: So was it Bill’s office?

Hollar: It was the council. The council voted to go forward with it, but that would be different than actually approving it. We agreed to go forward with it.

Occaso: Because the way Mr. White talks, you’re kind of spearheading all that stuff.

Hollar: I spearheaded negotiations with him. And we’ve had many, many conver-sations with him about the parcel. About our interest in acquiring it. But we’ve still got to present evidence. We still haven’t heard from engineers of what the potential redesign would be ... the hazards of having a separate intersection for the bike path

and vehicle access to the site though the current city lot.

Occaso: Would it go down along Stone Cutter’s Way after that?

Hollar: (Takes out paper and pen and describes while he sketches how the path would come across a proposed new bridge behind Shaw’s, cross in some manner through the lot where Montpelier Beverage is, cross Main Street and continue along a dedicated bike lane that would go along one side of Barre Street.)

So you’ve got these Barre Street buildings and then you’ve got a dedicated bike lane going up to the senior center and then

crossing over. You’ve got the Rec Depart-ment here. This was part of the Greening of the Capitals grant. The city got a grant that proposed a variety of different things that we could consider for upgrading our downtown. One of them was to consider a roundabout for this area (Hollar points to the intersection where Barre Street meets Main Street). Another was a bike path along here and there were a variety of oth-ers. This was one that seems to have a lot of support and the ability to move forward on this pretty quickly. Because right now the bike path ends behind the Rec Depart-ment. It just ends. So you have Sarducci’s over here. You’ve got the railroad tracks. You’ve got the dry cleaners and people just kind of find their way. So the bike path just kind of ends. The idea is to (he ges-tures showing how to connect One Taylor Street across the river, across Main Street, along Barre Street and to the Rec Depart-ment where it cuts back out behind Barre Street.)

You’ve got two questions. One is you are going to need vehicle access. So you are going to have an additional intersection here. You have access here to Shaw’s, to the Montpelier Beverage, and then you have a new intersection where you would have both the bike path and cars. So what he is suggesting is run the bike path this way (indicates a path around the back of Mont-pelier Beverage and through a parking lot near The Drawing Board).

Occaso: That is what White is suggesting?

Hollar: I think so. That is what we’d have to do.

Occaso: I heard him say two things. Either that or build another one story building and have (the path) go straight.

Hollar: That is a possibility as well. And

we can talk about that. We have a failed intersection here (where Barre Street meets Main Street) according to VTrans. It is an intersection that really doesn’t work. And if we add another intersection, what does that do for safety and traffic congestion. And then the question is what do bikes do?

We are going to go forward with this, I believe, which is extending the bike path to Main Street, so you are going to have a very clear route (from the Rec Center along Barre Street to Main Street).

Occaso: So, would that mean you would take out a sidewalk or add into the existing roadway?

Hollar: No, we’d take out parking. That parking would be replaced by a dedicated two-way bike path.

Occaso: I go on that street all the time. It is like a free-for-all.

Hollar: It is really not a safe street right now for bikes. I think it would be sea-sonal. You can create temporary demarca-tion along there so it is clear that this is for bikes.

Occaso: That might actually make things better for driving.

Hollar: Oh, I think it would.

(Meanwhile, Nat Frothingham gets off the phone from the City Assessor’s office)

Frothingham: Stephen Twombley reports (The Montpelier Beverage property) is worth $341,0000, but he is also saying that was in 2010. It may be low.

Hollar: There is also the requirement and opportunity for funding for business re-location as well. So the business that is located there is eligible for relocation.

(The discussion turned to other matters.) u

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Lost Nation Theater’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles” begins with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous story of the frightening murder of Sir Charles Baskerville on the moorlands. But then, like a breath of fresh autumn air, comedy pops off the

stage and transforms this dark tale into a hilarious farce. Adapted by British Broadcasting Corporation writer, director and producer, Steven Canny with writer, director and actor, John Nickolson for the British comedy trio, Peepolykus in 2007, the play has been well received all over the world.

In the tradition of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and following in the footsteps of “The 39 Steps,” their highly successful production last fall, Director Kathleen Keenan spoke enthusiastically about the production. “We really like this quick-change comedy style. It’s a real homage to the entire lineage of comedy.” In the British tradition of cross-dressing and pantomime, three male actors play all ten parts, male and female, as well as playing themselves. “Not only are you getting to meet all the characters the actors are playing, you get to meet the actors. The actors actually play themselves, playing these characters. This at once demystifies the theatrical experience and sets us up for even more comedy. And there’s a subplot to the actor who is playing the last remaining Baskerville whose life is at stake, being teased and terrorized by other actors and the tech crew.

“I think what is particularly wonderful about “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” and “As You Like It” is that this is a core team that has been working together for a number of years now, so that that kind of history, experience and knowledge of one another makes the rehearsal process and the show a lot more fun, which is communicated to the audi-ence. It’s going to be a great time.

“The concept tying in both shows is the idea of lifting the stories off the page and onto the stage. So there's an illustrated, paper quality to the design. We're also doing some things technically, that we've never done before at Lost Nation Theater, like f lying doors, fireplaces and trees in and out of the space. The design of both shows is quite ingenious. Janine Woods-Thoma, the scenic designer, has created a world that works for both plays

— both with multiple locations, but with the moors of Dartmoor (“The Hound of the Baskervilles”) and the Forest of Arden (“As You Like It”) featuring prominently.”

With “As You Like It,” they are celebrating 20 years of Shakespeare at Lost Nation The-ater with the revival of their first Shakespeare play. This enigmatic, pastoral comedy has been delighting audiences for four centuries and contains one of Shakespeare's most fa-mous monologues: “All the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players.”

Asked about the change in their approach to the play from 20 years ago, Director Kim Bent said, “we’re doing it differently this time. We’re thinking of it more as a storytelling than a play; taking away a lot of the artifice of the theater by using a minimum number of actors. “As You Like It” is a wonderful symphony about love. Multiple plot lines are playing different variations on the theme all the way through the show. There are actually four different couples that come together in the end. It’s really a celebration of love and romance, analyzed from different perspectives.”

Part of the celebration is a love poem contest. “Orlando, one of the characters in the play, is so enraptured with his love [of Rosalind], he’s creating love poetry and putting it on trees all over the forest. Writing poetry is a central image of the play, so we thought it would be nice to invite folks to write their own love poems. We’ll have one winner for each of the 15 performances, and each winner will have the opportunity to read their poem.”

And of course each show features a theme party. For the opening night, September 18, of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” there is “The Hungry Hound” after-party at New Eng-land Culinary Institute on Main Street. Opening night of “As You Like It,” September 25, they are hosting “ShakesBeer,” a pre-show reception in the theater lobby, catered by New England Culinary Institute, Sweet Melissa’s and Lost Nation Brewery.

Lost Nation Theater’s productions begin the September 17 and run through October. For information, call 229-0492, or visit www.LostNationTheater.org.

Lost Nation Open with “Hounds of the Baskervilles” on September 17 and Follows with Shakespeare's Comedy “As You Like It” on September 24 by Nancy Taube

Coming up on Saturday, October 3 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the pocket park on Main Street is what looks like a community party.

According to architect Ward Joyce, he and others will be offering beverages and cake to thank people who worked together this spring and summer to create a successful pocket park in an empty space right across the street from city hall and the fire station.

There were a number of elements that led to the success of this summer’s Main Street pocket park. Some of these elements include the green wall, the rainwater catchment system, overhead lighting, a chess board, picnic tables, bike parking and moveable street furniture.

Joyce had plenty of help in planning and designing the project from getting the needed permits and the building to installing the park in May with 20 community members and 10 Vermont Technical College faculty members. Local designer, Kelly Ogrodnik was responsible for the planting design.

“We’ve heard nothing but positive feedback on the park,” reported Joyce in an e-mail message to The Bridge and it was our observation throughout the summer that the pocket park was pretty consistent being used, enjoyed and appreciated.

Further thanks go out to the many individuals, businesses and organizations whose in kind and dollar donations made it possible to create and maintain the pocket park.

Joyce has added up a dollar amount for all of the donations and that amount is $22,211. But the dollar only tells part of the story. Joyce also acknowledges hundreds of hours of volunteer help — donated at no cost.

As part of the October 3 community party and celebration, Joyce and others are kicking off a campaign to raise — in his words — “a few thousand dollars for next year’s planting, upkeep expenses, and a budget for events.

Bravo to Ward Joyce, to Vermont Technical College students and faculty, to all who do-nated time, and to the many individuals, businesses and organizations who donated the money that made the pocket park possible.

Thanking Ward Joyce and Many Others for the Main Street Pocket Parkby Nat Frothingham

The Bridge Wants To Know What

You Think! The Bridge is conducting a 10-question online survey to get feed-back from readers and help us plan future coverage. Let us know what you like or don’t like about The Bridge and give us sugges-tions as to the type of stories we should include and the towns we should cover. Your participation would be appreciated. If you don’t have access to a computer, call the Bridge office for a printed version. Oth-erwise, please find the survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/229NDKZ. You can also scan the QR code with your smart device to reach the link.

Editorial


A Message From City HallThis page was paid for by the City of Montpelier.

The Mayor and City Council are convening two community forums on “Values for the Future of Montpelier.” The first will be held on Thursday,

September 24th at 6:30 PM at the Capitol Plaza. The second will be held on Tuesday, October 13th at 6:30 PM at Montpelier High School. These forums are intended to address City government issues and will not delve into particulars about the School District.

The forums will be led by citizen volunteer Paul Costello who, in his professional life, guides communities through these types of processes as Director of the Vermont Coun-cil on Rural Development. Other citizens with facilitation expertise will assist with small group interactions.

The second forum will build from information and com-ments generated at the first forum. There will be various ways to participate if you can’t attend one or both of the meetings, those will be outlined at the end of this article.

Why are these being held?The community conversations will be to identify impor-tant values for the future of Montpelier to guide the City Council and City staff as we create the budget for this year and in years ahead. The fiscal issues facing the com-munity are not all new but grow more challenging each year. There are multiple options for addressing the issues and the Council would like to hear from the community before pursuing a course of action.

The key issues are:• High Property Tax Bills• High Utility Bills• High Service Demand• High Support for Budget• Large Future Infrastructure Needs• Emerging Unmet Service Needs • Low Grand List Growth• Low Water/Sewer User Growth

What are the major decisions?The City is wrestling with the need to increase spending for capital and infrastructure, the costs of maintaining ser-vices and the sustainability/affordability of our property taxes and utility rates. Shall rates be raised? Shall services be cut? If so, which services? Shall we scale back on in-frastructure investment? How will we address emerging issues? Is there a balance between all of these?

What are the infrastructure needs?• $500,000 per year more needs to be spent on roads,

sidewalks, bridges, etc. Planned to be phased in over the next three years. $500,000 has already been phased in over the last three years.

• $1.5 Million immediate water line upgrade needed on Northfield Street

• $1.5 Million immediate sewer line upgrade needed on Northfield Street

• The Recreation Building at 55 Barre St. needs major upgrades for accessibility, energy efficiency and func-tionality. There is no cost estimate for this work yet.

• Over the next 50 years, the estimated cost to replace all exiting water lines is $76 Million which infers a com-mitment of $1.5 Million per year.

• Over the next 50 years, the estimated cost to replace all existing sewer lines is $64 Million which infers a com-mitment of $1.3 Million per year

• New Stormwater requirements to comply with the Lake Champlain Total Maximum Daily Load standards. We are preparing a detailed estimate of these costs which may include major upgrades to the Wastewater Treat-ment Plants, alteration of storm sewers and storm drains and additional service to catch basins and storm lines.

What services does the City provide?Any discussion about level of services requires an under-standing of the full range of service already provided. Most people have general awareness of the city’s work but here is a brief summary.

• Public Safety – Police, Fire, Ambulance, Dispatch, Emergency Management, Parking

• 2,000 fire and ambulance calls for service

• 9,296 police calls for service and proactive incidents

• 14,590 calls handled by dispatch

• Public Works – Streets, Sidewalks, Water, Sewer, Dis-trict Heat, Bridges, Storm Drains, Retaining Walls, Snow, Capital Plan, Equipment

• 55.8 miles of paved roads plowed and maintained

• 25 miles of sidewalks and 1.7 miles of shared use paths maintained

• 1 million gallons of drinking water distributed per day

• Community Services – Planning, Zoning, Commu-nity Development, Building Inspection, Parks, Senior Center, Recreation, Community Fund, Downtown, En-hancement Funds, Library, Cemetery

• 234 building permits and 123 zoning permits issued

• 846 members of the Senior Center

• 42 classes offered weekly at the Senior Center

• General Government – Elections, Property Records, Vital Records, Licenses, Finance, Accounting, Public Information, Assessing, Council, Manager

• 6,812 invoices paid

• 417 dogs licensed

• Maintained assessments, tax billing and collections for 2,911 taxable properties and 3.000 water/sewer ac-counts.

What are Specific Facts about the City Budget?• One Cent on Tax Rate = $22.36 in taxes for the average

residential property ($223.550 value)

• $85,180 in budget = One Cent on Tax Rate

• $11,841,093 in Grand List = One Cent on Tax Rate

• $498,900 = Total three year Capital Increase needed ($166,300 per year)

• $500,000 = Estimated annual increase in non-capital operating expenses based on current services.

• $5.3 M (0.6%) Projected increase in Grand List based on 8 year trend.

How Much Grand List (new property value) Growth is needed to lower property taxes?Assuming that property value growth does not gener-ate the need for additional services, $11,841,093 in new property will lower the tax rate by one cent. As a point of reference, this amount of value is roughly equal to 53 new houses (at average value), a 15% expansion of the existing downtown or a major office facility approximately 25% of the size of National Life. Obviously this value can be generated other ways, through incremental improvements in properties and the like. We project about half of this amount for next year’s budget. It is also possible that ad-

ditional housing growth which attracts families could help reduce the education tax by reducing the cost per pupil in the school system.

How does the City Spend our Tax Money?• Public Safety: $4,417,914 (36.7%)

• Public Works/Infrastructure: $4,429,415 (36.8%)

• Community Services: $1,655,832 (13.7%)

• Government Services: $1,543,666 (12.8%)

How Much do I pay for each service? Assuming a $223,550 residential property with total tax bill of $2,245:

• $431 – Police• $344 – Public Works• $328 – Capital Plan• $288 – Fire/EMS• $261 – Govt Services • $159 – Recreation• $109 – Equipment Plan• $97 – Ballot Items • $69 – Planning/Zoning• $47 – Other Govt – County, GMTA, CVRPC, etc.• $41 – Parks and Trees• $30 – Senior Center • $24 – Cemetery • $12 – Community • $4 – Building Inspection• $0 – Community Justice Center

What are some of the emerging needs cur-rently unmet or underfunded in the budget?• Community response to drug & alcohol related crime• Stormwater management• Long Term Facility Preventive Maintenance and Energy

Efficiency Improvements• Paramedic Services• Housing • Complete Streets• Net Zero Initiative• Downtown Revitalization• Recreation Building

What questions will be discussed at the first forum?• What are core community values to consider when

building budgets?

• What are your ideas around property taxes, revenue sources or costs in the city budget?

• Are there key services, programs or functions of city government that are top priorities for the future?

How do I get involved?• Attend one or both of the forums on September 24th

and October 13th.

• Watch the video on ORCA and/or the City’s website which outlines these budget challenges.

• Participate in the online survey connected to this effort at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/1BudgetForum

• A second survey will be created after the results of the first forum are assembled.

• Watch for notices in the media and on Facebook (City of Montpelier – official), Twitter (@vtmontpelier), Front Porch Forum, Website (www.montpelier-vt.org)

Finally, of course, please feel free to contact me or your elected officials with questions or comments about the City Government. I can be reached at [email protected] or 802-223-9502. Other city officials’ email addresses and phone numbers are available on the web.

Thank you for reading this article and for your interest in Montpelier city government.

Values for the Future of Montpelierby William Fraser, City Manager


Dwight Miller, of the same small town in Windham County, a little north of Brattleboro, is distinctive in that it grows certified organic apples. This requires a lot of extra work and most people who are se-rious about organic produce are willing to shell out the extra money. According to Kirigin, they produce anywhere from 10-20 varieties each year, and the co-op buys them as long as they’re available.

Champlain Orchards, like Scott Farm, has a large selection of eco-logically grown apples, meaning they’re not certified organic, but employ a limited spray approach, and only when needed. Unlike commercial growers who spray just about anything, in any amount, all over their trees to yield the most fruit for the market, both Champlain and Scott Farms do spot treatments, and do so sparingly enough to maintain their eco-certification.

One advantage that Champlain has over the competition is a state of the art storage facility that keeps their apples good all year round.

When I first started working at the co-op four years ago, they hadn’t upgraded yet, and we’d run out of local apples early in the winter, spring if we were lucky. Now, we still have Champlain apples on the shelf throughout the summer until the current crop is ready to pick.

But now is that time, and we’re starting to see an onslaught of new apples each week. At my last count, we were up to 15 varieties from Zeke and a few organics from Dwight Miller. It’s an exciting time to be a Vermonter, and being in the proximity of it all makes me feel like a lucky man. Cheers!

Garrett Heaney is a local artist, author and self-proclaimed Certified Organic Banana Handler at Hunger Mountain Coop. His art can be seen online at ahny.us or purchased directly at Buch Spieler Records in downtown Montpelier.

About the Apple: A Fruit’s Eye View of the SeasonsContinued from Page 1

MONTPELIER — Joe Buley, owner of soup maker Joe’s Kitchen, is scrambling to get his new production facility into full swing before frosty weather hits and soup sales shift into high gear.

“Sales will quadruple in mid-October and we’ll stay busy until April,” said Buley, whose company sells soup to accounts throughout Vermont as well as in Boston, Brooklyn and upstate New York. He re-cently signed agreements to supply soup to two University of Vermont dining halls.

One of Buley’s biggest accounts is Hunger Mountain Coop, which in soup season la-dles out 150 gallons a week of Joe’s Kitchen soup to its deli customers, plus offers Joe’s soup — which uses local ingredients when-ever possible — for sale at retail. The soup is also served locally at the North Branch Café.

Buley’s new manufacturing operation is within sight of the co-op. It's located off Barre Street in an old gray building next to the railroad tracks that until three years ago was used as a tire warehouse. Buley and his landlord Steve Ribolini had to completely renovate the building, which had holes in the roof when Buley first saw it in February or March.

“Steve has been really phenomenal,” Buley said of his landlord Ribolini. “This project wouldn't have happened without him.”

When Ribolini bought the parcel, it had several old or unused buildings. He tore down a couple of them and now rents part of the parcel to the co-op for employee parking, according to Buley. In addition to the Joe’s Kitchen building, Ribolini owns two other buildings nearby that could also be converted to new uses.

For Buley, the move into the Montpelier facility is a major upgrade for what has been a steadily growing business. Twelve years ago, the former chef and restaurant owner started farming on his Screamin’ Ridge Farm, located on Dillon Road in East Montpelier. He started selling soup about six years ago, and was often seen selling at the Montpelier Farmer’s Market.

According to his farm’s website — which touts “Culinary Supported Agriculture” — Buley’s cooking interest is a familial one: “Joe's grandmother’s kitchen in East Randolph, Vermont is the inspiration for the wholesome, f lavorful, value-added ag-ricultural products from Joe’s Kitchen at Screamin' Ridge Farm.” She was known for always having soup simmering on the stove, the site says.

After cooking up his own soup in vari-

ous locations, in 2011 Buley became the first tenant at the Mad River Food Hub in Waitsfield, a licensed food production facility renting space and storage to food entrepreneurs that opened. Now Buley is the hub’s first “graduate.”

“It’s great moving from cooking in 300 square feet to having a 1,600-square-foot commercial kitchen here in Montpelier,” Buley said. The new location has been licensed by the state and approved by the United States Food and Drug Administra-tion, and awaits a United States Depart-ment of Agriculture inspection so the firm can start making soups with meat in them at the new facility.

One stumbling block for the move to the new space was Montpelier’s idiosyncratic sprinkler requirement. Buley and Ribolini asked for a variance, but the wording of the city’s ordinance did not allow an excep-tion for them, even though the building has a cement f loor, cinder block walls and steel I-beams. Sprinklers were installed at

considerable expense; Ribolini said he hopes they will add to the long-term value of the building.

Buley’s purchase of new cooking and re-frigeration equipment for the facility was aided by a capital grant from the state’s Working Lands Enterprise Fund, a grant that Buley matched with a loan from the Vermont Economic Development Authority.

Including Buley, Joe’s Kitchen has six part-time employees, two of them scheduled to shift to full-time this winter. Buley’s daughter Olivia works for the business, and his wife Lauri pitches in the one day a week she is not working at her other job.

In addition to giving the company more space and being closer to his home, another benefit Buley sees from his move is that he may have an easier time hiring help. “Em-ployees were hard to find in Waitsfield,” he said. “Here the commuter bus stops right on Barre Street.”

Joe’s soup comes in 25 different variet-ies, although not all are offered at the same time. Two of the company’s top soup sellers are Ginger Chicken Vegetable and Roasted Butternut Squash Thai Green Curry. About 80 percent of the company’s business involves wholesale sales of soup, which is shipped in three-quarter gallon plastic bags, with 20 percent being sold in containers at retail.

In the future, Buley plans to expand his product line to include sauces and spreads, which he said should help even out sales and production over the full year.

But with cold weather just around the cor-ner, it is soup that will soon be simmering away at Joe’s new Montpelier commercial kitchen.

Joe’s Soup Manufacturer Moves To Montpelier by Phil Dodd

Joe Buley


Divide, Move & Conquer!by Miriam Hansen

September is the time to divide and move those perennials that bloom in spring and summer. Rather than devote the whole column to this subject, I’m offer-

ing you this Clemson University Extension website, a useful resource on when and how to divide a long list of garden perennials. It covers plant division and moving, as well as detailed diagrams of different kinds of root systems. http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/landscape/flowers/hgic1150.html

This is also the time of year to assess a bed and move or even discard plants that:• Have not thrived in the place you’ve planted them• Are lost behind larger plants• Need to be behind something because as their blooms go by, the foliage becomes un-sightly

• You want more space between plants

Moving plants to create space between them is not just about giving the plant optimum conditions for growth. It is about “isolating” plants from each other, a landscaping tech-nique as important as creating a clean new edge for a bed. Much as we appreciate a riot of color, the eye likes to bounce across a bed, and space between plants enhances that, much the same way as repetition of a plant across the bed.

September is also the time to take stock of the best varieties, be they pole beans or snap-dragons, peonies or red peppers.

Here are my vegetable picks for the year:

Fortex are unbeatable as pole beans. They grow up to two feet long and unlike other varieties, they remain tender if huge, even if you don’t pick them for four or five days. Carmen is my favorite red pepper, two to three inches longer than the popular variety Lipstick. Carmens are sweet, deep red, tapered fruit, prolific and early. For hot peppers, I’ve winnowed it down to Jaluv, An Attitude, a cross between an open-pollinated Jala-peno and the variety called 45 Degrees North Attitude. Jaluv is available from Fedco’s, is quite hot (2,500 to 8,000 Scoville units) and has a sweet underlying f lavor. One plant produces dozens of fruit. We dry ours and grind them to shake on whatever is for dinner tonight. Symphony is hands down the best caulif lower, with enormous (10 to 12 inch) pure white, sweet heads with none of the typical Brassica bite. This year I had poor luck with all the different varieties of broccoli I planted, but based on past success, I recom-mend Fiesta, a sweet, large (seven-inch), tightly domed broccoli that does equally well as an early or late crop. We grew a variety of cucumbers this year, all wildly productive! Silver slicer, a white, very sweet and delicious cuke, needs to be harvested young. They quickly over-ripen. For that reason, next year when I grow only ONE kind of cuke, I will probably stick with Tyria, an English cucumber that ripens slowly and is equally good harvested when it is very small or very large. If you are looking for a pickling variety, Cross Country is a highly productive gherkin but you have to harvest every other day or they will balloon! Space is a wildly productive, juicy spinach that tolerates heat well. For fall, my lettuce picks are Blushed Butter Cos and Nancy Butterhead. For a summer lettuce, I’d vote for heat-tolerant Magenta, a glossy Batavian type with red tinged leaves and a crispy green heart. For a true Romaine, Jericho is outstanding, huge and delicious.

The zinnias, marigolds and snapdragons are spectacular this fall. Both the Zahara Series Zinnias (15 to 18 inches) and Profusion Series Zinnias (12 inches) are a mass of blooms. Cut and Come Again Zinnias (almost three-feet-tall), combine a bold mix of candy colors and, as the name suggests, the more you pick, the more f lowers they produce! I’ve been growing the dwarf Twinny Series of Snapdragons for a few years now, and last year, I planted both peach shades and bronze. Next year I’ll only plant the bronze. The bronze range is so much brighter and more vibrant. The peachy shades look washed out in comparison. I will continue to plant the deep orange, Chantilly Snapdragon, though I’ll have to come up with a staking strategy. They grow quite tall and fall over without support. For Cosmos, I’d recommend Sensation, a prolific, open-flowered variety. Like Chantilly, it really can use staking. Many have fallen over with the sheer weight of branches and blooms!

It can be hard to tell the first year whether a perennial you’ve started from seed is all you’re hoping for. This is less true with biennials that can bloom the first year if you plant them early enough. This has been the case with Strawberry Foxgloves, a gorgeous biennial the color of crushed strawberries. I’ve planted it from seed two years in a row and hope that it self-seeds like other foxgloves I’ve grown. I hope this is true because it has been blooming steadily for about three months!

Astra Double Blue Balloon Flower is a dwarf rock garden perennial that has bloomed first year as adver-tised. It also has an unusually long bloom time for a perennial, with gorgeous pure blue double f lowers held just off the ground.

And what can I say about Lisian-thus, that luscious annual that takes six months to bloom from seedling to f lower? It is gorgeous, a worthy experiment and one I shall never repeat!

Happy harvesting, edging, dividing and moving!

Sparge: /spärj/ verb. A brewing technique that extracts the sugar from the grains by exposing the grains to water.

G a r d e n e rHands-on

BRIDGE BITES

ColumnJohn’s

N E C I N E W E N G L A N DCULINARY INSTITUTE

Photo courtesy of Miriam Hansen


BARRE — Starting up a business is challenging and rewarding. An entrepreneur needs to have a clear understanding of their competitive advantage in the marketplace and the desire to chase their dreams despite the obstacles inherent in starting a business. One such obstacle has remained prevalent for many over the last 40 years, and that is access to capital. In terms of lending, our conventional financial system is designed to work with the least amount of risk possible.

For a startup or young business with not much of a track record, accessing capital in our conventional system can be a challenge that delays growth and expansion and causes missed opportunities in the marketplace. Now, I’m not saying that every business concept and entrepreneur deserves an opportunity. However, I am saying that many risk adjusted business concepts are not given the opportunity by our conventional system. To combat this failure of our conventional financial system, alternative lenders began establishing themselves across the country and formed the Community Development Financial Insti-tution industry.

There are several of these institutions in Vermont and for almost 20 years, Community Capital of Vermont has been working hard to fulfill the dreams of many entrepreneurs to start and expand businesses. Community Capital was born out of a program run by Capstone Community Action in the mid 90s and started out as the Central Vermont Revolving Loan Fund to help people access capital in Washington County.

Although their name has changed several times, their mission of helping small business owners and lower income entrepreneurs through flexible financing has not. In fact, their impact in central Vermont and throughout the state has increased and helped many businesses startup and thrive in our beloved downtowns. Community Capital’s offices are right on Main Street in downtown Barre and have played a very important role in the revitalization of the Granite City. Almost a dozen businesses have received financing including Next Chapter Bookstore, Morse Block Deli, Delicate Decadence and Bury the Needle Tattoo.

Last year, Community Capital was the highest volume Small Business Administration Microloan lender in New England with about a million dollars lent around the state of Vermont, including a loan to Bailey Road located in downtown Montpelier. And recently, they were announced as a recipient of a large $700,000 grant from the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution. The pool of peers that Community Capital competed against ranged from across the United States and is considered to be the Community Development Financial Institution Fund’s most competitive pool. For Community Capital, the award is a tremendous recognition of their tireless efforts to create financing tools that allow many entrepreneurs to make their dreams come true.

For this author, it is especially rewarding to hear of this award because over a decade ago, I sat next to my spouse as she went before the revolving loan fund board seeking financing to start up her own business; I studied the Community Development Financial Institu-tion Fund industry in graduate school and most recently worked at Community Capital for four years ending this past December. My experience at Community Capital allowed me the opportunity to become intimately familiar with the startup process and how chal-lenging owning your own business truly is. And, being invested so heavily in Barre, it provided me a richness of being part of something new and exciting.

Community Capital and their f lexible approach to lending will always be needed and the additional business advisory services they provide set them apart from their conventional counterparts. They are an organization that must be entrepreneurial themselves as they seek to dive deeper and more broadly to further their reach and mission. Neither Barre nor Vermont would be the same without them and I congratulate them on their achievements.

Alternative Lenders Fund Many New Venturesby Joshua Jerome

Granite City Groove

Martin Hahn, executive director of Community Capital of [email protected]


I just saw in the Sunday supplement magazine of a large metropolitan newspaper that Alton Brown, a graduate of New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier

and a star on the Food Channel, is fed up with foodies. I think I know what he meant by that. Like anything

in life, if you get a steady diet of something you get tired of it, kind of like my mother making cream cheese and jelly sandwiches for my lunch for my entire eight years of elementary school. And it wasn’t even good jelly — just run-of-the-mill grape jelly. On Wonder Bread no less! I’m not entirely sure, however, what a foodie is. I mean, I enjoy food a lot and I like to eat food on a regular basis. Am I therefore a foodie? I also like wine. Does that make me a wino? Oh, wait, strike that comparison!

It seems to me that Brown and his TV chef star colleagues Mr. Lagasse, Mr. Batali, Ms. Cora, Mr. Flay and Mr. Bourdain have brought this problem on themselves. They cre-ated foodies. There was a time when I, like many other normal people, was happy to go to The Dugout in East Barre and dine on a grilled chuck steak that hung off the edges of the plate and was cooked by a guy who wore a white apron, a white tee-shirt and a white sailor’s cap, kind of like Mel Sharples, the diner owner/cook in the 1970s sitcom “Alice.” But no longer. At the urging and instruction of Mr. Brown and his colleagues I’ve been pulled over to the dark side of dining, where I’m not satisfied unless I spend a week’s salary for a plate on which a tiny piece of fish is artistically arranged with some vegetables on top of some sauce with an unpronounceable name.

This condition can be a problem. I just spent a week in Manhattan. But did I eat at food trucks? No! Because of Brown and his friends, my wife and I chose to eat at nice restaurants within walking distance of our hotel. According to all the foodie magazines that are published there, New York has a very large number of very good restaurants, and most of them, it seems, were within walking distance of our hotel. What the foodie magazines gloss over is that if you are staying for seven days in Manhattan and must dine out at these restaurants every night, you can easily deplete your 401K.

Realizing that the family inheritance was in danger, my wife and I even tried on two separate evenings to find less expensive restaurants. One night we went to what I thought was a pizza place. I was happy to order a pizza. My wife, however, spied something that turned out to be the most expensive dish on the menu. The result was a bill a little higher than the one we ran up at a more expensive establishment the night before. But as my wife pointed out to me, she’s worth it, and that is a position with which I cannot disagree.

It made me wonder though, how average New Yorkers can afford to live in the city. I surmised that since they can’t cook in their tiny apartments, they must be frequenting restaurants that are not as expensive as the ones within walking distance of our hotel. After reading restaurant reviews in a magazine dedicated to life in New York, I discov-ered that is indeed the case. The problem is that there are a lot of New Yorkers and to get into some of these joints can mean a wait of hours at the bar swilling cocktails and then being seated for dinner at about the same time that Dave Letterman would be doing his monologue back when he was still working.

The whole foodie movement may be in peril, however, because of one famous chef from Napa in California. He opened a restaurant in Manhattan where you can enjoy his nine-course tasting menu. You really have no other choice. The only thing on the menu is the chef ’s nine course tasting menu, although you can opt for a smaller seven-course or five-course version if you’re not hungry. The tasting menu is “prix fixe” which in English means, “so expensive it takes your breath away.” And, if you decide you want certain dishes on the list, such as ones containing “osetra caviar” (read “fish eggs”), “foie gras” (read “liver”), or “shaved truffle” (read “fungus”), a “supplement” will be added to the bill that could easily feed two people at one of those nice places within walking distance of our hotel. And as far as I can tell, wine is not included in the “prix fixe.” Hold onto your hat when you look at the wine list. It offers wines by the glass that cost as much as a more-than-decent whole bottle of wine at some of those nice places within walking distance of the hotel.

Now I know this chef is a talented and innovative cook. I even have one of his cook-books. I do not begrudge him his Michelin stars. But a meal for two at his restaurant could easily cost more than a set of four P245/50R-18 Michelin steel-belted, run-flat technology radial tires. And those tires are good for more than 40,000 miles, not just until breakfast.

With prices like that — just with sticker shock — he might kill off all the foodies of the world — one by one.

The End of Foodies? by Larry Floersch


MONTPELIER — What do you do when weekly, low-key and simple potluck meals with friends spiral out of control into multi-course dinner events the likes of which are seen on gourmet magazine covers?

That question arose for Helen Labun, a Bear Pond Books event coordinator with an Agriculture and Food Systems degree, a love of cookbooks and a published foodie book of her own. Over the course of four years, Labun’s infor-mal potluck gatherings at her home had morphed into a complicated study of new flavors and an overabundance of menu items. Says Labun, “The potlucks got progressively out of control. This needed to become a job rather than a hobby.” And so in August 2015, Hel’s Kitchen was born.

Hel’s Kitchen, an obvious play on Labun’s name, shares space with the restaurant Salt at 207 Barre Street. Salt’s owner, Suzanne Podhaizer, was looking for someone to share restaurant space with her since Salt is only open Fridays through Sundays. In stepped Labun, who had been looking to open a take-out eatery specializing in diverse home-cooked style meals with a weekly rotating menu. Hel’s Kitchen offers take-out Mondays through Thursdays, with onsite communal table and family-style dining offered on Thursday evenings. Labun emphasized that Salt and Hel’s Kitchen are “two very different types of eating.” Whereas Salt is a dine-in restaurant and offers a more upscale menu, Hel’s Kitchen’s meals are made by a self-taught cook who describes her dishes as “aggres-sively home-cooked.” Sometimes the restaurants will share themes, such as Spanish cuisine on the same week, but they offer very different meal experiences.

Many locals may remember a similar eatery at that same Barre Street location not more than 10 years ago. Susan’s Kitchen, a take-out restaurant owned and operated by Susan Reid, also featured a rotating weekly menu of home-cooked, eclectic dishes. This is not mere coincidence. Labun wants to bring back that same type of establish-ment where someone can pick up an interesting meal on the way home from work. She even consulted with Reid prior to opening her restaurant. Hel’s Kitchen ended up adopting the same hours, themes and meal-order and take-out process as Susan’s Kitchen.

Hel’s Kitchen is mostly a single-person operation. Labun says that friends will sometimes volunteer to help prep. Her husband, Lawrence Miller, steps in when he can but it’s mostly Labun you will see in Hel’s Kitchen. “He’s an excellent dishwasher,” said Labun of Miller.

Labun describes Hel’s Kitchen’s menu as curiosity-driven. “A defining characteristic of my cooking is broad curios-ity. Trying new things. Researching new regions,” Labun said. She wants to offer dishes not easily found in the central Vermont area, thus her menus are internationally and regionally diverse. You may see Spanish, Moroccan or South African cuisine on rotation; you may also see Tay-lor pork roll, a New Jersey favorite. Labun even presents menus specific to a certain time period. Just recently, her Thursday night family style dinner was themed on 16th Century Spanish cuisine.

Her cooking is inspired by the hundreds of recipes that came about from her years of potluck dinners. Labun also finds inspiration in the hundreds of cookbooks that have overtaken her kitchen at home. “I love reading cook-books!” said Labun with a smile. Not just for the recipes,

she explains, but for the personal story that prefaces each recipe. One of her favorites is “Make the Bread, Buy the Butter” by Jennifer Reese. A book, she says, that has funny stories and highly useful recipes. This passion for cook-books is also enabled by her work in marketing and event coordinating for Bear Pond Books, where she previews the latest food-related books.

Labun clearly isn’t a complete stranger to the food world or food trends. She studied Agriculture and Food Systems at Princeton University and went on to get her masters in Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of Vermont. The Vermont native also wrote “Discovering Flavor,” published in 2014 with the tagline “all you need to know about food appreciation in 99 pages.” “It’s a crash course [in] food appreciation for the foodie and non-foodie,” explains Labun. The book is a narrative examining the f lavors the average consumer ex-periences on a daily basis, such as coffee, where those f la-vors come from and how our basic senses respond to them.

It’s obvious that Labun loves food, learning about food and sharing her food. Her recipes allow people to try new flavors and cuisines. “People taste a dish here, go to some-place like New York City where there’s a restaurant with a professional chef specializing in that cuisine and say ‘Oh yeah, I know what that is!’ and they try it again and other new things.”

Hel’s Kitchen’s weekly rotating menu encourages new taste exploration. “If they don’t like it, they can come back next week when the menu is different and try something new again.”

Labun said that Hel’s Kitchen is heavily focused on the home-cooked style to the extent that all her menu recipes are shared on the restaurant’s website. “I want people to try a dish and know they can make the same exact thing at home.”

Hel’s Kitchen uses organic and locally-sourced ingredients as much as possible. For those rare spices and ingredients, Labun turns to trips to Montreal and the Internet. Friends will also ask her for a shopping list when they travel out of state or country. For ingredients just too rare to procure, such as peacock for the 16th Century Spanish Peacock Sauce, Labun goes to the closest substitute, which in this case was chicken.

Some upcoming cuisines that will be visited on the menu are from Turkey, Persia and France. Labun definitely wants to highlight Sweden in December in celebration of St. Lucia’s Day. We’re expected to find a lot of winter squash in upcoming dishes: Labun’s husband hates winter squash so she rarely gets to cook it at home.

Hel’s Kitchen has entrees and desserts with vegetarian and gluten-free selections, and dishes can be modified for vegans. Labun can accommodate other food allergies but encourages people to visit the website and peruse the exact ingredients in her recipes before ordering.

Take-out is available for pick up and reheating at home Mondays–Thursdays, 3:30–7 p.m. Orders can be phoned in at 229-6678 or made online at helskitchenvt.com. The current menu and recipes can also be found at the website. A communal table and family style dinner service is of-fered on Thursdays at 7 p.m.; reservations are required.

Heavenly Tastes at Hel's Kitchenstory and photos by Marichel Vaught

Garlic Butter Cheese Spread recipe from Helen Labun

• 1 head garlic, roasted (see below for roasting instructions) — choose a larger or smaller garlic based on your prefer-ences

• 6 oz. Cabot Alpine Cheddar Cheese (it doesn't have to be this exact cheddar cheese, I just happen to love this cheese more than is reasonable), in smallish cubes

• 5 tbsp. unsalted butter, also in cubes• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard• 1/4 tsp. chili powder• Salt and pepper to taste• Hot sauce (optional — and to taste)• Boiled cider (optional) • Put the cheese in a food processor, process until fairly

smooth. Add everything else but the boiled cider, process until very smooth — you'll have to scrape down the sides occasionally. Serve with boiled cider drizzled on top — optional. Good on bread, crackers, sandwiches, steak.

• Roasted garlic: Heat an oven to 375˚F. Cut about 1/4 inch off the top of a head of garlic. Drizzle olive oil on the ex-posed cloves, wrap in aluminum foil and roast for about 50 minutes, or until all the cloves are completely soft. Squeeze the soft meat out of the skins.

Helen Labun of Hel's Kitchen offers “inspired takeout.” helskitchenvt.com.

Labun prepares the takeout containers.


EAST MONTPELIER — Storytelling duo Tim Jennings and Leanne Ponder are pre-senting what they describe as “a close-up variety show” to include storytelling, vaude-ville, puppetry, a circus and mime act — in what has to be one of the smallest and most intimate performing spaces in central Vermont — the Four Corners Schoolhouse in East Montpelier. The event begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday evening, October 3.

The five variety show performers are storytellers Jennings and Ponder. Also Rose Fried-man and Justin Lander — Bread and Puppet Theater veterans and actors with the Hardwick-based Modern Times Theater. Also circus and mime artist Rob Mermin will be performing a vignette from his Bubble Circus. Mermin, who trained with Marcel Marceau, was the founder and director of Circus Smirkus.

Jennings and Ponder also describe the show as a “Pocket Chatauqua” in the spirit of the broadly popular travelling road shows that swept the country during the late 19th cen-tury. With 50 seats and a small stage, the Four Corners Schoolhouse, promises to create an audience and performance space that is friendly to mime, vaudeville, storytelling, laughter and applause.

Talking about the October 3 event, Jennings said, “All five of this evening’s artists are quite comfortable performing in front of very big audiences and it’s exciting to do that. But there’s a certain kind of performance that only works, and a kind of connection you can only get, when your audience is literally close enough to touch.”

Storytelling, Mime and Vaudeville at the 4 Corners Schoolhouse on October 3by Nat Frothingham

MONTPELIER — Six students soon to graduate from the New England Culinary Insti-tute will be strutting their stuff by taking charge of the NECI on Main Street restaurant on Friday evening, September 18 from 5 to 10 p.m.

According to the student managers, already more than 100 reservations have been re-ceived.

“Discover the PEAK” are the three words that the six students have chosen to express what they hope to achieve in the dining experience they will offer to the public with the ambitious meal they will be serving at a time of year when freshly harvested food is at its peak of taste and freshness.

The six students are calling their single night of restaurant management “a pop-up event,” a single chance for all of them to work together to manage the restaurant and take responsibility for the food, the menu, the cooking, the service — and ultimately the dining experience they will offer to the public and to their NECI instructors.

In a f lyer announcing the “Discover the PEAK” dining event the students say quite can-didly, “Things are still being worked on, but you can watch everything come together on Facebook and Instagram.”

The student f lyer announcing the event offers a range of menu items already decided on: such as “The Walk Swim Fly Charcuterie” — and what is a “charcuterie”— it’s a serving of cold, cooked meats.

On entrees, the suggestions of what’s to be served is less exact: “Dishes that feature things that walk, swim and fly and photosynthesize” the students say.

Or for dessert, “Carrots and beets and everything sweet.”

“Curious yet?” is the final question on the “Discover PEAK” flyer.

To make a reservation for the (one-night only) September 18 “Discover the PEAK” pop-up (NECI on Main Street) event, please phone 223-3188 or go online to [email protected].

Discover the Peak: Dining at NECI on Mainby Nat Frothingham

Leanne Ponder and Tim Jennings


THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17The Tunbridge World’s Fair. Sept. 17–20. Thurs., 8 a.m.–9 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sat., 7 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sun., 8 a.m.–6 p.m. 1 Fairground Rd., Tun-bridge. Thurs., Fri. and Sun., $10; seniors on Fri., $8; Sat., $15; season ticket $35. For full schedule: tunbridgeworldsfair.com

Brain Injury Support Group. Open to all survi-vors, caregivers and adult family members. Third Thurs., 1:30–2:30 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., Montpelier. 244-6850.

Diabetes Discussion Group. Focus on self-management. Open to anyone with diabetes and their families. Third Thurs., 1:30 p.m. The Health Center, Plainfield. Free. Don 322-6600 or [email protected].

Credit Card Debt: What to Do if it Gets Out of Control. With Robin Barone. Responsible han-dling of credit card debt, what to do if you have to go to court and how to avoid unscrupulous credit card debt collectors. 5 p.m. Central Vermont Basic Education’s Montpelier Learning Center, 100 State St., Montpelier. Register in advance: 476-4588 or 223-3403.

Survivors of Suicide Loss Support. Monthly group for people affected by a suicide death. Third Thurs., 6–7:30 p.m. Central Vermont Medical Center, conference rm. 1, Fisher Rd., Berlin. 223-0924. [email protected].

Embodying Relationship. A talk exploring a less "self" oriented perspective on relationship that embraces community, nature, mindfulness and the psychology of living with another being. With Robert Kest, Ph.D. 6–7:30 p.m. Hunger Moun-tain Coop, 623 Stone Cutters Way, Montpelier. Free. 223-8000.

Grandparents Raising Their Children’s Chil-dren. Third Thurs., 6–8 p.m. Child care provided. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main St., Montpelier. 476-1480.

River Arts Photo Co-op. Gather, promote and share your experience and knowledge of photog-raphy with other photography enthusiasts in an atmosphere of camaraderie and fun. Adults/teens. Third Thurs., 6–8 p.m. River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. $5 suggested donation. 888-1261. riverartsvt.org.

Designing Abundance: Applying Permaculture Principles to Regional Design. A Transition Town program. Presenter Victor Guadagno, an Emmy winning director and permaculture expert discusses permaculture on all scales and how it can lead to a better society. 6:30–7:45 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.

Songwriters’ Meeting. Meeting of the Northern VT/NH chapter of the Nashville Songwriters Association International. Bring copies of your work. Third Thurs., 6:45 p.m. Catamount Arts, St. Johnsbury. John, 633-2204.

Mushroom Talk with Fletcher Dean. Mushroom slide show, talk and discussion. 7 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marshfield. Free. 426-3581. jaquithpubliclibrary.org.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18The Tunbridge World’s Fair. Sept. 17–20. Thurs., 8 a.m.–9 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sat., 7 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sun., 8 a.m.–6 p.m. 1 Fairground Rd., Tun-bridge. Thurs., Fri. and Sun., $10; seniors on Fri., $8; Sat., $15; season ticket $35. For full schedule: tunbridgeworldsfair.com

Westview Meadows Annual Open House and Book Fair. A rare opportunity not to be missed. Tour the community and see what retirement living is all about. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Westview Mead-ows, 171 Westview Meadows Rd., Montpelier. 223-1068. westviewmeadows.com

Kids Creating Music. With Bob Brookens. This may be your last chance this year to catch Bob and his myriad of instruments kids can play with during this lively musical story time! For ages 18 months–4 years. 10 a.m. Waterbury Public Li-brary, 30 Foundry St., Waterbury. Free. 244-7036. waterburypubliclibrary.com.

Who’s There? Movies About Identity. The Man without a Past (2003). The title character survives a mugging, but has no memory of who he is or what his life was in this droll film from Aki Kaurismaki. 7 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marshfield. Free. jaquithpubliclibrary.org. 426-3581.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19Hike Waitsfield with Green Mountain Club. Dif-ficult. About 5 miles. Scrag Mountain from Waits-field to Northfield. Near the summit is the former fire tower site, and below summit is the cabin used by the lookout. Car spot necessary. Contact one of two co-leaders for meeting place and time: Rudy

at 433-1004 or Phyllis Rubenstein at 223-0020 or [email protected]

The Tunbridge World’s Fair. Sept. 17–20. Thurs., 8 a.m.–9 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sat., 7 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sun., 8 a.m.–6 p.m. 1 Fairground Rd., Tun-bridge. Thurs., Fri. and Sun., $10; seniors on Fri., $8; Sat., $15; season ticket $35. For full schedule: tunbridgeworldsfair.com

Bethany Church Lawn Sale. Sept. 19–20. 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Everything you could desire in one place at great prices! Donations accepted Sept. 14, 1–8 p.m.; Sept. 15–17, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. No dona-tions accepted on Sept. 18. Bethany Church, 115 Main St., Montpelier. 223-2424. [email protected]. bethanychurchvt.org

Additional Recyclables Collection Center. Ac-cepting scores of hard-to-recycle items. Third Sat., 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 540 N. Main St. (old Times-Argus building), Barre. $1 per carload. 229-9383 x106. For list of accepted items, go to cvswmd.org.

Lamoille River Clean-up. Sponsored by Vermont River Conservancy, Lamoille River Anglers Associ-ation and Lamoille County Conservation District. Help improve the streams and rivers for Vermont. 9 a.m.–2 p.m. 459 Durarmel Rd., Morristown. 888-9218 x. 113. [email protected]

Vermont Granite Festival. Celebrate Barre and central Vermont’s granite heritage with ethnic music, performances, activities, exhibits and dem-onstrations by area stone workers. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Vermont Granite Museum, 7 Jones Brothers Way, Barre. Adults $5; seniors $4; children $3; families $10; free for members. 476-4605. [email protected]. vtgranitemuseum.org

Mushroom Walk with Fletcher Dean. Stranahan Forest. Sponsored by the Marshfield Conservation Commission. 10 a.m. Meet in the parking lot on the corner of Hollister Hill and Thompson roads. Jaquith Public Library: 426-3581. jaquithpublicli-brary.org

Live Caterpillar Zoo. See hundreds of native cat-erpillars with naturalist, photographer and founder of the Caterpillar Lab Sam Jaffe. 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Woodbelly Artisan Pizza will be on site until 2 p.m. North Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm St., Montpelier. Adults $5; children $3. 229-6206. northbranchnaturecenter.org.

Vermont Lions Charities Bingo Night. A fun-draiser to help support Vermont Lions Charities’ work. Vermont Lions Charities has provided assistance for purchasing eye glasses for seniors, disabled and low income residents of Lamoille County. Refreshments, snacks, silent auction, door prize. Doors open 4 p.m.; first game 6:30 p.m. VFW, Pleasant St., Morrisville. 442-0380. [email protected]

Chicken Pie Supper. Two sittings, 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main St., Montpelier. Adults $12; children 10 and under $5. Take-outs available. Reservations required: 229-9158.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20Hike Vermont's Mt. Monadnock with Green Mountain Club. Lemington. Moderate. About 5 miles. The mountaintop features a recently rebuilt observation tower with excellent views east into the northern White Mountains and north into Canada. Bring food and liquid, and dress for weather. Contact Michael for meeting time and place: 249-0520 or [email protected]

Bethany Church Lawn Sale. Sept. 19–20. 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Everything you could desire in one place at great prices! Donations accepted Sept. 14, 1–8 p.m.; Sept. 15–17, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. No dona-tions accepted on Sept. 18. Bethany Church, 115 Main St., Montpelier. 223-2424. [email protected]. bethanychurchvt.org

Velo Vermont Vintage Road Ride. Dust off your ten-speeds! All are welcome, however, the idea is to get some vintage bikes on the back road. Pre-1990 road bikes are highly encouraged. 28 mile route. Helmets required. Rain or shine. 2 p.m. Leaves from Onion River Sports parking lot, Langdon St., Montpelier. $20 encouraged donation. Register: [email protected]. Facebook: Velo Vermont Vintage Road Ride.

Poetry Readings: VERVE in Verse. Vermont poets Major Jackson and Julia Shipley will read their poetry. 3–4 p.m. Reception and book signings to follow down the road at the Kent Museum exhibit VERVE: Art & Energy. Old West Church, 758 Old West Church Rd., Calais. kentscorner.org/art-at-the-kent.html

Families of Color. Open to all. Play, eat and discuss issues of adoption, race and multicultural-ism. Bring snacks and games to share; dress for the weather. Third Sun., 3–5 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., Montpelier. Alyson 439-6096 or [email protected].

Some Like It Hot. Kicks off the Chandler Film Society 2015–16 season. 1959 film directed by

Billy Wilder. 6:30 p.m. Chandler Center for the Arts, 71-73 Main St., Randolph. $9; $6 for mem-bers. chandler-arts.org.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22Bereavement/Grief Support Group. Open to anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. 10–11:30 a.m. Conference Center. 600 Granger Road, Berlin. Free. 223-1878.

Art History Lecture: American Art in the Decade Pre World War I. MSAC member Debbie Tait discusses American art in the decade before World War I when artists absorbed the new ideas generated in Europe at the turn of the twentieth century and experimented with a new realism and abstraction. 1–2:30 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activ-ity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free; open to the public. 223-2518.

Medicare and You Workshop. New to Medicare? Have questions? We have answers. Second and fourth Tues., 3–4:30 p.m. 59 N. Main St., Ste.

200, Barre. Free, donations gratefully accepted. 479-0531. [email protected]. cvcoa.org.

Investment Strategies: Focus on Fixed Income. With Leo Connolly of Edward Jones. Part of a free series of monthly presentations sponsored by Gif-ford’s Morgan Orchards Senior Living Commu-nity to help families prepare for and adjust to life in their later years. 5–6 p.m. Gifford Conference Center, 44 S. Main St., Randolph. Free. Limited to 32 participants. Register: 728-2787

Yom Kippur Service. 6 p.m. Beth Jacob Syna-gogue, 10 Harrison Ave., Montpelier. Complete schedule and online donations: bethjacobvt.org

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23Yom Kippur Service. 9 a.m. Beth Jacob Syna-gogue, 10 Harrison Ave., Montpelier. Complete schedule and online donations: bethjacobvt.org

The Role of Archaeology in Understanding the French and Indian War. Presented by anthro-

THEATER, STORYTELLING & COMEDYSept. 17–Oct. 25: The Hound of the Basker-villes. Presented by Lost Nation Theater. Sir Ar-thur Conan Doyle’s celebrated Sherlock Holmes story gets a gloriously funny makeover. Thurs., 7 p.m.; Fri. and Sat, 8 p.m.; Sept. 19 and Sun., 2 p.m. Lost Nation Theater, City Hall Arts Center, Main St., Montpelier. $30 Fri. and Sat.,; $25 Thurs. and matinees; discounts for students and seniors. 229-0492. lostnationtheater.org.

Sept. 18: Stroke Yer Joke. Sign up in advance on Facebook, or sign up at the door a half hour be-fore show time, and try five minutes of your best open-mic stand-up comedy before a live audience. 8 p.m. Espresso Bueno, 248 N. Main St., Barre. Free. 479-0896. [email protected]. espressobueno.com.

Sept. 19: Ballets with a Twist: Mint Julep and Other Spirited Dances. Reinvents the glamour and excitement of classic entertainment with an original mix of charismatic choreography, intoxicating music and exquisite costume design. Program highlights include the spunky “Shirley Temple” and Kentucky Derby-inspired “Mint Julep.” 7:30 p.m. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, 122 Hourglass Dr., Stowe. $20–59. 760-4634. sprucepeakarts.org

Sept. 20: A Fleeting Animal: An Opera from Judevine. A collaborative work by two Vermont artists, composer Erik Nielsen and poet David Budbill. Budbill’s libretto tells a tragic love story that touches on rural poverty, racism and PTSD. Nielsen’s score draws from diverse contemporary styles, including jazz, blues, and French-Cana-dian fiddle tunes. 4 p.m. Chandler Music Hall, 71-73 Main St., Randolph. Adults $25; students with adult $5. chandler-arts.org. afleetinganimal.com

Sept. 24–Oct. 24: As You Like It. Love at first sight, a wrestling match, cross-dressing and fools! Shakespeare’s delightful, romantic comedy boasts all four, cleverly intertwined with the trials and triumphs of love. Thurs., 7 p.m.; Fri. and Sat, 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. Lost Nation Theater, City Hall Arts Center, Main St., Montpelier. $30 Fri. and Sat.,; $25 Thurs. and matinees; discounts for

students and seniors. 229-0492. lostnationthe-ater.org.

Sept. 25: Bueno Comedy Showcase. A dedi-cated show of stand-up featuring four or five tal-ented comics, from here and away, doing longer sets. 8:30 p.m. Espresso Bueno, 248 N. Main

St., Barre. $6. 479-0896. [email protected]. espressobueno.com.

Sept. 26: The Olate Dogs Rescue Tour. Winners of America’s Got Talent Season 7, The Olate Dogs are a high-energy, fast-paced canine theatri-cal act filled with amazing dog tricks, human acrobatics and humor. Ten dogs in the troupe, many of them rescues. 7 p.m. Spruce Peak Per-forming Arts Center, 122 Hourglass Dr., Stowe. $20–45. 760-4634. sprucepeakarts.org

Sept. 26: Extempo. Locals tell short-format, first-person, true stories live on stage without any notes or reading. 8 p.m. The Blue Barn, 117 W. County Rd., Calais. $5. 223-0184. [email protected]. extempovt.com

Sept. 30: Lamb Chop Loves the Military. Mallory Lewis and Lamb Chop the sock puppet icon will thrill all ages with her timeless charm and humor. 7:30 p.m. Lyndon State College, Alexander Twilight Theater, 1001 College Rd., Lyndonville. Adults $10; youth 12 and under $5; free for active and retired military. Fundraiser for Rhythm of the Rein’s Veterans program. 426-3781. [email protected]

Oct. 2: Lamb Chop After Dark. With Mallory Lewis and Lamb Chop the sock puppet. the Lamb gets a bit more frisky — this show is geared more toward adults. Cash bar. 7:30 p.m. Cana-dian Club, 414 E. Montpelier Rd., Barre. $15. Benefits Rhythm of the Rein Theapeutic Riding and Driving Program. 426-3781. [email protected]

Oct. 3: Pocket Chatauqua. Storytelling, vaudeville, puppetry, a circus and mime act with Tim Jennings and Leanne Ponder. Rob Mermin will be performing a vignette from his Bubble Circus. 7 p.m. The Four Corners Schoolhouse. E. Montpelier.

AUDITIONSVermont Has Talent Auditions. Upload audi-tion to youtube by Oct. 1 and email link to [email protected]. For talented Vermonters ages 8–24. Performance will be at the Barre Opera House on Oct. 18. vermonthastalent.org

Performing ArtsCalendar of Events


Calendar of Events

pologist Andrew Beaupré. An Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program. Doors open 12:30 p.m. for those wishing to bring a brown bag lunch; program 1:30 p.m. Aldrich Public Library, 6 Washington St., Barre. 454-1234.

Falls Prevention Workshop. Join therapists from the University of Vermont Network CVMC Rehabilitation Services for a presentation about fall prevention and individualized screenings. The presentation will be held 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. and is open to all. Additionally, 15-minute screenings will be scheduled between 1–3p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Call for appointment: 223-2518.

Shine & Dine at Skinny Pancake. Join us for an evening of food, drinks, music and chatting solar. Get your questions answered about how solar works in Vermont. 5:30–8:30 p.m.; Jay Ekis performs 6:30 p.m. Skinny Pancake, 89 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 552-0125. [email protected]. http://suncommon.com/event/shine-dine-skinny-pancake-montpelier/

Group Dream Embodiment. Come and see what dreams can bring us. If possible, bring 2–3 dreams to discover the unique message they have for you. All dreamers welcome. 6–8 p.m. Nutty Steph’s, 961 US-2, Middlesex. Donations ac-cepted. 522-6889.

U-32 School Board Meeting. Open to the public and community members are always welcome to attend. 6 p.m. U-32, Rm. 131, 930 Gallison Hill Rd., Montpelier. 229-0321.

Montpelier City Council Meeting. Second and fourth Wed., 6:30 p.m. City Council Chambers, Montpelier City Hall. 39 Main St., Montpelier. montpelier-vt.org.

“Capt’n Bob’s Adventures in Child Psychol-ogy.” Retired clinical child psychologist Robert Belenky discusses his book. Part autobiography, part professional memoir, the book is comprised

of anecdotes and stories of a life that has been anything but dull. 7 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338. [email protected]. kellogghubbard.org.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24Credit Basics. With Sandra Poczobut, member services representative at Granite Hills Credit Union. Learn about credit, credit reports, improv-ing your credit score and avoiding credit debt. 9:30–11 a.m. Central Vermont Adult Basic Edu-cation’s Barre Learning Center, 46 Washington St., Barre. Register: 476-4588.

Green Mountain Dog Club Monthly Meeting. Learn about the club and events. All dog lovers welcome. Fourth Thurs., 7:30 p.m. Commodore’s Inn, Stowe. 479-9843 or greenmountaindogclub.org.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25Capstone Community Action 50th Anniver-sary Celebration. Capstone celebrates 50 years of strengthening families, transforming lives and building communities. Live music, family friendly activities and light refreshments. Guest speakers will feature Vermont Lt. Governor, Phil Scott. 3–6 p.m. 20 Gable Pl., Barre. Free. capstonevt.org

Rally for Safe Roads in Montpelier. Join the call for safe roads for everyone — walking, bik-ing, driving, riding a horse, crossing the road in a snowmobile, you name it. Headlined by Lt. Governor Phil Scott and hosted by the Vermont Highway Safety Alliance, Local Motion and others, the event is an opportunity to hear from legislative and agency leaders and to share your ideas about how to improve our roads and streets for everyone. Included are the official launch of the Vermont Road Users Pledge, music and food. Parking available in the DMV parking lot on State Street and the DOL park and ride on Green

Mountain Drive. 5:30 p.m. State House lawn, State St., Montpelier.

Lecture and Potluck: The Perilous Boyhood of J. Edward Wright. A lecture on the pre-Civil War boyhood of J. Edward Wright, minister at the Unitarian Church of Montpelier from 1869 to 1909. Preceded by potluck dinner. Please bring a dish to share. Potluck 6 p.m.; program 7 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., Montpelier.

Friday Night Group. For youth age 13–22 who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. Pizza, soft drinks and conversation. Cofacilitated by two trained, adult volunteers from Outright VT. Second and fourth Fri., 6:30–8 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-7035. [email protected].

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26Hike Mount Pisgah with Green Mountain Club. Westmore. Moderate. 4.4 mile round trip via the north trail. Must contact Paul: 476-7987 or [email protected].

Canoe/kayak Norton Pond with Green Moun-tain Club. Norton and Warren Gore. Moderate. This 583-acre pond offers many areas to explore. Bring boat, PFD, water and lunch. Optional overnight at Brighton State Park — reservations recommended. Contact George and Cynthia for meeting time and location: 229-9787

10th National Prescription Drug Take-Back. Washington County Sheriff Sam Hill, in coopera-tion with the DEA, Central Vermont New Direc-tions Coalition, and the Vermont Department of Health Partnership for Success, has coordinated six local collection sites for the disposal of unused prescription drugs. Pills and capsules only. No liquids or syringes. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. dea.gov

Washington County Sheriff’s Department, 10 Elm St., MontpelierNorthfield Police Department, 110 Wall St., NorthfieldBarre City Police Department, 15 Fourth St., BarreVermont State Police Middlesex, 1080 Rt. 2, MiddlesexKinney Drugs, 800 US Rt. 302, BerlinKinney Drugs, 80 S. Main St., Waterbury

Exploring the Forest Storytime: “Little Red Riding Hood” and Other Stories. Children's li-brarian and award-winning bagpiper Ian Gauthier will lead preschoolers through first graders and their parents on a short walk followed by stories, song and a nature activity. Dress for weather con-

ditions. 1 p.m. Town of Barre Forest, 44 Brook St., Websterville. Free. 476-4185.

Man Bites Bingo. This ain’t yo mama’s B-I-N-G-O…and you should also definitely leave the kids at home. Wacky hijinks, guest callers, prizes. Bring a prize if you want to play more than one card. 8 p.m. Espresso Bueno, 248 N. Main St., Barre. Free. 479-0896. [email protected]. espressobueno.com.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27Hike Mt. Mansfield with Green Mountain Club. Moscow. Difficult. 10.2 miles. About 3,500' elevation gain. Ascend the Lake Mansfield Trail to Taylor Lodge, then follow the Long Trail over Mt. Mansfield to Smugglers' Notch. Car spot-ting required. Another new hike for the leader, progressing toward completion of the Long Trail. Contact Jill for meeting time and place: [email protected]

Plug-A-Log Workshop. Learn how to make your own mushroom log with Motown Mush-rooms. Inoculate a hardwood log full of edible mushrooms and take it home to watch it grow then harvest! All supplies are included. 1–3 p.m. Elmore Roots Nursery, 631 Symonds Mill Rd., Elmore. Must register: 888-3305. [email protected].

Central Vermont Humane Society 3rd annual Yard Sale. Shop to help support shelter animals. 8 a.m.–1 p.m. Early birds 7:45 for $5. An appraiser will be on hand to appraise your own treasures: $10 for the first item, $5 for additional items (5 item limit). Montpelier Elks Club, 203 Country Club Rd., Montpelier. Yard sale donations ac-cepted Sept. 25, 4–7 p.m. and Sept. 26, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. at the Montpelier Elks Club. centralvermonthumane.org.

East Hill Farm 40th Anniversary Open House. Find out about our riding program and spend a day at the farm. Demonstrations, door prizes. 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Pony rides: 11 a.m.–noon; 1:30–2:30 p.m. East Hill Farm, 540 Gonyeau Rd., Plain-field. Free. 479-9258. easthillfarm.org

Fourth annual Harvestival. Celebrate the harvest with live music, a grape stomping contest, local food, face painting and more! 1–5 p.m. Fresh Tracks Farm, 4373 Rt. 12, Berlin. $25 fee to register a team for the Grape Stomp. 223-1151. [email protected]. freshtracksfarm.com/events. Register for Grape Stomp: vtharvestival.brownpapertickets.com/

Yom Kippur Service. 6 p.m. Beth Jacob Syna-gogue, 10 Harrison Ave., Montpelier. Complete

MusicVENUESCharlie O’s World Famous. Live music, 10 p.m. 70 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-6820.

Every Mon.: Open Mic Comedy Café, 8 p.m.Every Tues.: Karaoke Night, 9:30 p.m.Sept. 18: Boomslang, Learic and DJ BP (hip-hop)Sept. 25: Spit Jack Reunion Show with The Pity Whores & GhostLicker (punk rock)

Espresso Bueno. 248 N. Main St., Barre. 479-0896. Free/by donation. [email protected]. espressobueno.com.

Sept. 19: Open Mic & Talent Show, 7:30 p.m.

La Puerta Negra. 8 p.m. 44 Main St., Montpe-lier. $5. 613-3172.

Sept. 18: The Rough and Tumble (Americana)

Positive Pie. 10 p.m. 22 State St., Montpelier. 229-0453. positivepie.com.

Sept. 25: Sound of Mind, $5.Oct. 2: Steady Betty, $8.

Sweet Melissa’s. 4 Langdon St., Montpelier. Free unless otherwise noted. Other shows T.B.A. 225-6012.

Sept. 17: Anna Grow, 5 p.m.; Tim Brick, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18: Mark LeGrand, 5 p.m.; Coquette, 9 p.m. $5. Sept. 19: Penny Arcade, 5 p.m.; Eames Brothers Band, 9 p.m. $5. Sept. 20: Ray Davenport, noon; Live Band Rock & Roll Karaoke, 8 p.m. Sept. 21: Kelly Ravin, 8 p.m. Sept. 22: Bruce Jones, 5 p.m.; Open Mic Night, 7 p.m. Sept. 23: Django Soul-O, 8 p.m. Sept. 24: Dave Keller, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25: Mark LeGrand, 5 p.m.; Michelle Sarah Band, 9 p.m. $5. Sept. 26: David Langevin, 5 p.m.; Peter May-hew & Act of Conscience, 9 p.m. $5.

Sept. 27: Live Band Rock & Roll Karaoke, 8 p.m. Sept. 28: Kelly Ravin, 8 p.m. Sept. 29: Nancy & Lily Smith, 5 p.m.; Open Mic Night, 7 p.m.

Whammy Bar. 7 p.m.; Fri. and Sat., 7:30 p.m. 31 County Rd., Calais. Thurs., Free. whammybar1.com.

Every Wed.: Open micSept. 17: Dale Cavanaugh (Americana, folk)Sept. 18: Audrey Bernstein and Joe Capps (jazz)Sept. 19: Sara Grace Sept. 24: Michelle Rodriguez and Paul BoffaSept. 25: Anachronist with Brian Clark (indie rock)Sept. 26: Golden/Novak Oct. 1: David Symons and Inner Fire District (klezmer)Oct. 2: Kava Express (funk/rock/soul)Oct. 3: Stovepipe Mountain Band (jam/blue-grass)

SPECIAL EVENTSSept. 17: Dare to Be Square Dance. Pete's Posse (featuring Pete Sutherland) plays the Montpelier Square Dance with calling by Will Mentor. No partner or experienced needed. All dances taught. 7:30 p.m. American Legion Post #3, 21 Main St., Montpelier. $5–10 sliding scale. 793-4650. [email protected]

Sept. 19: Barre-Tones 44th annual Show. Enjoy a lively and sometimes humorous show, with a cappella barbershop singing woven through a sto-ryline set in 1944 wartime and our troops being entertained at the Front. Special guests, and 2011 women’s International Barbershop Champions, Foreign Exchange, will kick off the second half of the show. 7 p.m. Barre Opera House, 6 N. Main St., Barre. Adults $15; seniors $10; students and kids 18 and under $7. barreoperahouse.org

Sept. 20: Penny Arcade Plays at Morse Farm. Welcome autumn at Morse Farm with your favorite jazz standards performed by Penny Ar-cade. With special guest Tom Morse on trumpet. Half-price creemees. 1–5 p.m. Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks, 1168 County Rd., Montpelier. Free.

223-2740. morsefarm.com

Sept. 20: Vermont Virtuosi: Pipe Dreams 2: Same pipes, different dreams. Seven of the fin-est flutists in the tri-state area performing music by Felix Mendelssohn, Gustav Holst, Johann Sebastian Bach, Christoph Willibald von Gluck, Frédéric Chopin, Julius Fucik, Zequinha de Abreu, Richard Rodgers, Philip Thomas, as well as the premiere of Eventful Heroics by Vermont composer David Gunn. 3 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., Montpelier. Suggested donations: adults $10; $5 seniors and students. 881-9153. [email protected], laurelannmaurer.com

Sept. 20: Salvation Farms Benefit Concert. Concert-goers can enjoy acoustic sets on the brand-new outdoor patio stage or retreat indoors for foot-stomping electric rock and roll. On the electric stage are Dead Sessions Lite, Coquette, Mark LeGrand’s Honky Tonk Band, John Lackard Blues Band and more. The outdoor stage features Seth Yacovone, Jason Wedlock, Jason Jack, Christine Malcolm, Django and others. 3 p.m.–midnight. Moog’s Place, 97 Portland Pl., Morrisville. $10 suggested donation supports Salvation Farms’ work managing surplus produce and reducing food waste on farms. moogsplace.com. salvationfarms.org.

Sept. 25: Jazzyaoke. Sing the standards to a live six-piece jazz band. 7:30–10:30 p.m. The North Branch Café, 41 State St., Montpelier. $5. 552-8105. [email protected]. wooo.tv

Sept. 25: Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Part of the VSA fall tour. Program includes two charming Scandinavian miniatures (student poetry will accompany Sibelius’ evocative Suite Mignonne), and two sublime works featuring the violin. 7:30 p.m. Johnson State College, Dibden Center, Johnson. Adults $29; seniors $25; students $10. 864-5741 ext. 10. http://www.vso.org/event-view.php?id=88

Sept. 25: Rani Arbo and Greg Ryan. Rani Arbo (fiddler/vocalist/songwriter extraordinaire) of Daisy Mayhem and Salamander Crossing will be performing with Greg Ryan. 7:30 p.m. Maple Corner Community Center, 64 W. County Rd., Calais. $10 per person; $25 per family. 426-3955.

Sept. 25: Asleep at the Wheel. American roots music. Based in Austin, Texas Asleep at the Wheel have won a staggering nine Grammy Awards. 8 p.m. Barre Opera House, 6 N. Main St., Barre. $27–32. 476-8188. barreoperahouse.org

Sept. 26: Riverfront Rocks: Evolfo. Brooklyn-based Evolfo will perform on the porch of the train station, sharing their sizzling, seven-piece, high-octane dance music complete with blazing horns, guitar, drums and keyboard for a late afternoon of dancing and celebration. Part of the KCP Presents series. 4:30–6:30 p.m. St. Johns-bury Welcome Center and Train Depot, 51 Depot Square Park, St. Johnsbury. Free. kcppresents.org

Sept. 26: The Alan Doyle Band. In the five years since Great Big Sea issued its last album, the group’s front man Doyle — one of Canada’s most recognizable voices — has released two solo albums. 8 p.m. Barre Opera House, 6 N. Main St., Barre. $18–29. 476-8188. barreoperahouse.org

Oct 2: Three Men and a Tenor. Singing comedy quartet. A cappella group with great pop vocal music and quick-witted humor. 7:30 p.m. Chan-dler Music Hall, 71-73 Main St., Randolph. $6. 728-6464. chandler-arts.org.

Oct. 3: Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Part of the VSA fall tour. Program includes two charming Scandinavian miniatures (student poetry will ac-company Sibelius’ evocative Suite Mignonne), and two sublime works featuring the violin. 7:30 p.m. Chandler Music Hall, 71-73 Main St., Randolph. Adults $29; seniors $25; students $10. vso.org.

Oct. 3: Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam. Join the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and co-founder of the legendary band Traffic who charted such hits as “Feelin’ Alright,” “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and “Hole In My Shoe.” 8 p.m. Barre Opera House, 6 N. Main St., Barre. $22–39.50. barreoperahouse.org

Send your listing to [email protected]

Deadline for next issue is September 24. Send information for events happening Oct. 1–Oct. 17.


Calendar of Events

Visual Arts EXHIBITSThrough Sept. 18: Art Resource Association Group Members Show. Celebrating 40 years. An excellent opportunity to view many central Vermont artists’ works. T.W. Wood Gallery, 46 Barre St., Montpelier. artresourceassociation.com. twwoodgallery.org.

Through Sept. 23: Alan Jacobs. Abstract paint-ings by Jacobs, a retired psychiatrist and psycho-analyst and self-taught artist. Gifford Medical Center gallery, 44 S. Main St., Randolph. Free. 728-7000.

Through Sept. 26: Karla Van Vliet. Mixed media works inspired by the artist’s own dreams. Axel’s Gallery, 5 Stowe St., Waterbury. 244-7801. [email protected]. axelsgallery.com.

Through Sept. 26: Paintings of Diane Fitch. Ja-quith Public Library, 122 School St., Marshfield. Free. 426-3581. jaquithpubliclibrary.org.

Through Sept. 30: Tom Leytham, The Other Working Landscape. Watercolor prints. Gal-lery hours Mon.–Fri., 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Pavilion Office Building, Governor’s Gallery, 109 State St., Montpelier. tomleythamarchitectartist.com.

Through Sept. 30: Paintings by Marina Epstein. 20 years of painting ranging from the artist’s earliest influences of surrealism, abstract expressionism and more. The Vermont State Supreme Court, 111 State St., Montpelier. Free. 229-6297. hermitage-gallery.com.

Through Sept. 30: The Fantastical World of Liz Le Serviget. Enter the fantastical world of Le Serviget’s painted menagerie and delight in the organic forms, swirls and vivid colors that soar with her imagination. Cheshire Cat, 28 Elm St., Montpelier. 223-1981. cheshirecatclothing.com.

Through Oct. 2: Watercolors and Pastels by Kathrena Ravenhorst-Adams. City Center, Main St., Montpelier.

Through Oct. 4: VERVE: Art & Energy. Featur-ing over a dozen Vermont visual and literary art-ists. Participants capture the intrinsic tension of line and color, revealing energy and visual vital-ity in a wide variety of works. Kent Museum, 7 Old West Church Rd., Calais. www.kentscorner.org/art-at-the-kent.html

Through Oct. 12: 25th annual Art Show in the Round Barn. The juried exhibition features local and returning artists from Vermont and surrounding states. Oils, pastels, watercolors, sculpture and mixed media including fiber, metal and wood, plus a number of free-standing sculptures. Opening reception: Sept. 20, 4–7 p.m. $20. Gallery hours: Sun.–Fri., 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Inn at the Round Barn Farm, Joslin Round Barn, E. Warren Rd., Waitsfield. 496-7722. greenmountainculturalcenter.com

Through Oct. 14: Exposed. Outdoor sculpture exhibit. 18 monumental sculptures and installa-tions. The art works are installed in Stowe along Main Street, the recreation path and at Helen Day Art Center at 90 Pond St., Stowe. helenday.com/exposed2015.

Through Oct. 30: Exhibits at Studio Place Arts. Gallery hours: Tues.–Fri., 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sat., noon–4 p.m. 201 N. Main St., Barre. 479-7069. studioplacearts.com

Main floor: Rock Solid for Fifteen Years. An-nual exhibit \showcases stone sculptures and assemblages by area artists. In addition, take the Art Stroll around downtown, historic Barre and view a variety of sculptures created from granite.Second floor: Tarpentry. A visual narrative of landscape and culture by Linda Bryan.Third floor: Pattern & Signal. Paintings and ceramics by Alex Constantino. Reception: Sept. 17, 5:30–7:30 p.m.

Through Oct. 30: Precious Guru. A unique

exhibition celebrating the life and influence of Padma Sambhava, the 8th century yogi-magician who founded Tibetan Buddhism. UVM Health Network/Central Vermont Medical Center Gallery, 130 Fisher Hill Rd., Berlin. cvmc.org/about-cvmc/cvmc-art-gallery

Through Nov. 2: Photographing the Flower. Celebrates the work of local photographers who participated in River Arts' Photographing the Flower workshop taught by local photographer, Kent Shaw. Images on display highlight the artists' work, craft and unique vision. Morrisville Post Office, 16 Portland St., Morrisville. 888-1261. riverartsvt.org

Through Nov. 2. Hal Mayforth, Two Trains Running. Large abstract paintings on canvas as well as smaller works on wood panel that are cartoon and humorous in nature. Also included in this exhibit is a sampling of pages from Mayforth’s sketchbooks. Gallery hours: Mon.–Thurs., 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; Fri., 9 a.m.–2 p.m. River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. Free. 888-1261. riverartsvt.org.

Through Nov. 2: Carole Rosalind Drury, To Joe. A selection of paintings from Drury’s The Fall series, and is dedicated to her partner, Joe, who she lost in the summer of 2014. Gallery hours: Mon.–Thurs., 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; Fri., 9 a.m.–2 p.m. River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. Free. 888-1261. riverartsvt.org.

Through Nov. 8: Sound and Fury. Thought pro-voking exhibition explores themes centered on the meaning of life and death. Various mediums. Chandler Gallery, 71-73 Main St., Randolph.

Sept. 22–Nov. 13: Robert Brunelle and Edward Kadunc. Joint exhibit of Brunelle and Kadunc’s artwork. Opening reception: Sept. 25, 5–7 p.m. T.W. Wood Gallery, 46 Barre St., Montpelier. Free. 262-6035. Ginnycallan. [email protected]. twwoodgallery.org.

Through Nov. 22: Fractured: Works on Paper. Group exhibition of works on paper looks at fractured space through the lens of the narrative,

structure and optics and how those construc-tions or deconstructions create new meaning, new perceptions and new truths. Gallery hours: Wed.–Sun., noon–5 p.m. Helen Day Art Center, 90 Pond St., Stowe. 253-8358. [email protected]

Oct. 2–Nov. 28: Paintings of Janet Wormser. Opening: Oct. 2, 6 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marshfield. Free. 426-3581. jaquithpubliclibrary.org.

Through Nov. 30: Mark Lorah, Building Blocks. Vibrant, blocky abstract artworks. Morse Block Deli, 260 N. Main St., Barre.

SPECIAL EVENTSSept. 19: Opening Reception: Spirit Brings. A show of sculptures by local artist Nadya Beck. 4–6 p.m. Blinking Light Gallery, 15 Main St., Plainfield.

Oct. 3: Montpelier ArtsFest 2015. Extraor-dinary downtown Montpelier venues exhibit the vast and diverse artistic talent in central Vermont. A unique opportunity for seasoned and emerging artists to showcase their talents. Fes-tival goers will take a tour of exceptional venues throughout downtown Montpelier, each curated by different community art groups and indi-vidual artists, crafters and performers. 4–8 p.m. Downtown Montpelier. Some of the crafters and artists will be located in an events tent outside the "Garage" at 58 State St. Free. 223-9604. [email protected]. montpelieralive.org.

Oct. 3–4: Open Studio Weekend. Central Ver-mont is offering seven artist studios and a gallery with exhibits and demonstrations of pottery, metalwork, painting, bookbinding and more. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Artisans Hand Craft Gallery in Montpelier is the local regional information center. A free copy of the Vermont Studio Tour Guide is available at the Artisans Hand Gallery at the intersection of State and Main Streets in Montpelier. http://www.vermontcrafts.com/OSW/freemap.html.

schedule and online donations: bethjacobvt.org

Poetry Readings: VERVE in Verse. Vermont poets Karin Gottshall and Diane Swan will read their poetry. 3–4 p.m. Reception and book signings to follow down the road at the Kent Museum exhibit VERVE: Art & Energy. Old West Church, 758 Old West Church Rd., Calais. kentscorner.org/art-at-the-kent.html

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28Bereavement/Grief Support Group. Open to anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. 6-7:30 p.m. Conference Center. 600 Granger Road, Berlin. Free. 223-1878.

Starting Your Own Business. Overview of all the components that go into planning to start a business. Rules, regulations, resources, help avail-able to you around the state. Part of the Planning Business Building Blocks workshops. 6–8 p.m. Capstone Community Action, 20 Gable Pl., Barre. Free. Register: 477-5176.

Jaquith Monthly Book Club for Adults. For copies of the book, please stop by the library. New members are always welcome. September’s book is “Palace Walk” by Maguib Mahfouz. 7 p.m. Ja-quith Public Library, 122 School St., Marshfield. Free. 426-3581. jaquithpubliclibrary.org.

NAMI Vermont Family Support Group. Support group for families and friends of individuals living with mental illness. Fourth Mon., 7 p.m. Central Vermont Medical Center, room 3, Berlin. 800-639-6480 or namivt.org.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29It’s Your Move: Choosing a Career that Works for You. Career exploration workshop pre-sented by the Community College of Vermont and VSAC. Strategies and resources for career planning and navigating the job search process. 3:30–5:30 p.m. CCV, 660 Elm St., Montpelier. Free; open to the public. 828-4060.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30Climate Change Part 1: The Wisdom to Sur-vive. Presented by filmmaker Anne Macksoud. An Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program. Doors open 12:30 p.m. for those wishing to bring a brown bag lunch; program 1:30 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. 454-1234.

Vermont’s Bats and White-nose Syndrome. Learn about Vermont’s nine fascinating species of bats, what research we are doing to understand White-nose Syndrome, how Vermont is a leader in bat conservation and what you can do on your

property and in your home to help with bat con-servation and recovery. 7 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338. [email protected]. kellogghubbard.org

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1Paddle North Montpelier with Green Moun-tain Club. Moderate. Start at North Montpelier pond and follow the river north as it twists and turns through the beautiful fall foliage. Partici-pants must have their own kayak. PFD required. Contact Steve for meeting time and place: [email protected] or 1-609-424-9238

MBAC Meeting. Meeting of the Montpelier Bicycle Advisory Committee. First Thurs., 8 a.m. Police Station Community Room, 534 Washing-ton St., Montpelier. 262-6273.

Waterbury Center Community Church Chicken Pie Supper. Chicken Pie, mashed potato, squash, coleslaw, cranberry sauce and apple or pump-kin pie. Noon, 5 p.m and 6:30 p.m. Waterbury Center Community Church, Rt.100 (next to Cold Hollow Cider Mill), Waterbury Center. Adults $11; children ages 4–12 $6. Take-out available by reservation. Reservations: 244-8955.

Diabetes Support Group. First Thurs., 7–8 p.m. Conference room 3, Central Vermont Medical Center. 371-4152.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2Death Café. Group discussion about death with no agenda, objectives or themes. First Fri., 11:45 a.m.–1 p.m. Twin Valley Senior Center, Rte. 2, Blueberry Commons, E. Montpelier. Bring your own lunch or eat at the center for $4. 223-3322.

Art and Author Night. Art opening of Paintings by Janet Wormser, 6 p.m. Reading with authors Susan Thomas an Peter Sills, 7 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marshfield. Free. 426-3581. jaquithpubliclibrary.org.

Coffeehouse. Enjoy live music and share your own. Fellowship, potluck snacks and beverages. First Fri., 7–9 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main St., Montpelier (park and enter at rear). Free. 244-5191, 472-8297 or [email protected].

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3National Federation of the Blind, Montpelier Chapter. First Sat. Lane Shops community room, 1 Mechanic St., Montpelier. 229-0093.

Ainsworth Public Library Raffle and Book Sale. Presented by the Friends of Ainsworth Public Library. Shop from over a thousand bargain titles. Raffle drawing takes place at the end of the sale. 9

a.m.–3 p.m. Williamstown Middle/High School gym, 120 Hebert Rd., Williamstown. Raffle tickets: $1 each; six for $5. 433-5887.

Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival. Oct. 3–4. Animal barn, marketplace, shepherd workshops, fiber arts classes, contests, show and sale, vendor demos, exhibits, activities and events, food. Sat;, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tunbridge Fairgrounds, Tunbridge. Adults $6; seniors $5; children under 12 $1. vtsheepandwoolfest.org

Discover Goddard Day. Learn about your own academic path at our fall open house. Meet the Goddard faculty, speak with students and alumni, tour the campus. Program highlights include academic sessions and student panel. Lunch. 10 a.m. Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Rd., Plainfield. RSVP: 800-906-8312 or goddard.edu/discover

Rhythm of the Rein’s annual Fall Festival and Veterans Appreciation Day. Help say thank you to our Vermont veterans and their families for their sacrifices and service. Horse rides, games, pumpkin painting, food, arts and crafts. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Water Tower Farm, 386 US-2, Marshfield. Free. 426-3781. [email protected]

Rhythm of the Rein’s Annual Benefit Chicken BBQ. Live bluegrass music, silent auction, meet and greet with Mallory Lewis and Lamb Chop. 2–6 p.m. Water Tower Farm, 386 US-2, Marshfield. Adults $10; youth 12 and under $5. 426-3781. [email protected]

Forest Trails Less Traveled with Harris Web-ster. Join Harris for a moderately difficult walk through some of Montpelier’s less traveled trails. Some steep segments and elevation changes. Some portions of the trail have exposed roots. Walk lasts approximately 1–1.5 hours. Part of We Walk Week. 1 p.m. Meet at the entrance to the Na-tional Life Building (off National Life Dr.) where we will walk a short distance to the beginning of these trails. montpelier-vt.org

The Northeast Storytellers. Writers, readers and appreciators of prose and verse meet regularly the first Saturday of every month. The public is welcome to attend and new members are always encouraged to join. 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m. Catamount Arts, 115 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury. 751-5432. [email protected].

Osteoporosis Education and Support Group. For those who have been diagnosed with osteo-porosis or osteopenia, have a family member who has been diagnosed or want to learn about osteoporosis. Learn from a variety of guest speak-ers and medical specialists. First Sat., 1¬–3 p.m. Community National Bank, Community Room, Crawford Rd., Derby. 535-2011. [email protected]. betterbonesnek.org.

The Bridge’s Saturday Scribes Workshop Begins. Spend four afternoons in October honing your craft of writing. One workshop features poetry taught by Reuben Jackson host of Friday Night Jazz on VPR. Workshop dates: Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24. 1–4 p.m. The Bridge office inside VCFA’s Stone Science Hall, 62 Ridge St., Montpelier. $95; $75 if pre-paid by Sept. 30. Must register: 223-5112 ext. 14 or [email protected].

Montpelier ArtsFest 2015. See description under Visual Arts; Special Events.

Stay tuned for more walking events celebrating We Walk Week in our next issue’s calendar coming out October 1. We Walk Week is October 3–11 in

Montpelier. For the full schedule, visit montpelier-vt.org


ART & CRAFTBeaders’ Group. All levels of beading experience welcome. Free instruction available. Come with a project for creativity and community. Sat., 11 a.m.–2 p.m. The Bead Hive, Plainfield. 454-1615.

Noontime Knitters. All abilities welcome. Basics taught. Crocheting, needlepoint and tatting also welcome. Tues., noon–1 p.m. Waterbury Public Library, 28 N. Main St., Waterbury. 244-7036.

Women Knitting for Peace Group. Knit/crochet items to be donated to those in need world-wide. Bring yarn and needles. Thurs., 10–11 a.m. and 6–7:30 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. 223-2518. For basic info and patterns: knitting4peace.org.

BICYCLINGOpen Shop Nights. Volunteer-run community bike shop: bike donations and repairs. Fri., 4–6 p.m.; other nights. Freeride Montpelier, 89 Barre St., Montpelier. 552-3521. freeridemontpelier.org.

BOOKS & WORDSLunch in a Foreign Language. Bring lunch and practice your language skills with neighbors. Noon–1 p.m. Mon., Hebrew; Tues., Italian; Wed., Spanish; Thurs., French. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338.

English Conversation Practice Group. For students learning English for the first time. Tues., 4–5 p.m. Central Vermont Adult Basic Educa-tion, Montpelier Learning Center, 100 State St. 223-3403.

Ongoing Reading Group. Improve your reading and share some good books. Books chosen by group. Thurs., 9–10 a.m. Central Vermont Adult Basic Education, Montpelier Learning Center, 100 State St. 223-3403.

BUSINESS, FINANCE, COMPUTERS, EDUCATIONComputer and Online Help. One-on-one com-puter help. Tues. and Fri., 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Water-bury Public Library, 28 N. Main St., Waterbury. Free. Registration required: 244-7036.

Personal Financial Management Workshops. Learn about credit/debit cards, credit build-ing and repair, budgeting and identity theft, insurance, investing, retirement. Tues., 6–8 p.m. Central Vermont Medical Center, Conference Room 3. Registration: 371-4191.

FOOD & DRINKCommunity Meals in Montpelier. All welcome.Free.

Mon.: Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., 11 a.m.–1 p.m.Tues.: Bethany Church, 115 Main St., 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.Wed.: Christ Church, 64 State St., 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.Thurs.: Trinity Church, 137 Main St., 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.Fri.: St. Augustine Church, 18 Barre St., 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.Sun.: Last Sunday only, Bethany Church, 115 Main St. (hosted by Beth Jacob Synagogue), 4:30–5:30 p.m.

Lunches for Seniors. Mon., Wed., Fri., Noon. Twin Valley Senior Center, 4583 U.S. Rt. 2, E. Montpelier. $4 suggested donation. 223-3322. twinvalleyseniors.org.

Feast Together or Feast To Go. All proceeds benefit the Feast Senior Meal program. Tues. and Fri., noon–1 p.m. Live music every Tues., 10:30–11:30 a.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Seniors 60+ free with $7 suggested donation; under 60 $9. Reservations:

262-6288 or [email protected].

Barre Farmers Market. May 16–Oct. 17. Every Wed., 3–7 p.m.; every Sat., 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Vermont Granite Museum, 7 Jones Brothers Rd., Barre. barrefarmersmarketvt.com.

Capital City Farmers Market. 53 farmers, food producers and craftspeople. Every Sat. through Oct. 31. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 60 State St., Montpelier. capitalcityfarmersmarket.com.

Community Night. Fresh pasta dinners in sup-port of local non-profits and other community causes. A portion of the evenings proceeds will be donated to a selected local non-profit. Sept. 19 benefits Washington County Youth Service Bureau. Every Sat., 5:30–8:30 p.m. North Branch Café, 41 State St., Montpelier. 552-8105. thenorth-branch.com/upcoming-events/

HEALTH & WELLNESSTurning Point Center. Safe, supportive place for individuals and their families in or seeking recovery. Daily, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. 489 North Main St., Barre. 479-7373.

Sun.: Alchoholics Anonymous, 8:30 a.m.Tues.: Making Recovery Easier workshops, 6–7:30 p.m.Wed.: Wit’s End Parent Support Group, 6 p.m.Thurs.: Narcotics Anonymous, 6:30 p.m.

Early Bird Bone Builders Class. With Cort Richardson. Osteoporosis exercise and prevention program. Wear comfortable clothing and sturdy shoes. Light weights provided or bring your own. All ages. Every Mon., Wed. and Fri., 7:30–8:30 a.m. Twin Valley Senior Center, Rt. 2, Blueberry Commons, E. Montpelier. Free. Cort: 223-3174 or 238-0789.

Bone Building Exercises. All seniors welcome. Every Mon., Wed. and Fri. 10:45–11:45 a.m. Twin Valley Senior Center, 4583 U.S. Rt. 2, E. Montpelier. Free. 223-3322. twinvalleyseniors.org.

Tai Chi for Seniors. Led by trained volunteers. Every Mon. and Fri., 1–2 p.m.; Mon. and Wed., 5:30–6:30 p.m. Twin Valley Senior Center, 4583 U.S. Rt. 2, E. Montpelier. Free. 223-3322. twinvalleyseniors.org.

Living Strong Group. Volunteer-led group. Sing while exercising. Open to all seniors. Every Mon., 2:30–3:30 p.m. and every Fri., 2–3 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free. Register: 223-2518. [email protected].

Sex Addicts Anonymous. Mon., 6:30 p.m. Bethany Church, 115 Main St., Montpelier. 552-3483.

Overeaters Anonymous. Twelve-step pro-gram for physically, emotionally and spiritually overcoming overeating. Two meeting days and locations. Every Tues., 5:30–6:30 p.m. and Sat., 8:30–9:30 a.m. at Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 39 Washington St., Barre. 249-3970. Every Fri., noon–1 p.m. at Bethany Church, 115 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3079.

HIV Testing. Vermont CARES offers fast oral testing. Thurs., 2–5 p.m. 58 East State St., Ste. 3 (entrance at back), Montpelier. Free. 371-6222. vtcares.org.

Mooditude Support Group. Open to anyone coping with a mood disorder such as major depression, bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder, postpartum depression or dysthymia. Every Thurs., 4–5:15 p.m. Gifford Medical Center, 44 S. Main St., Randolph. Free. No registration required. 728-2608. [email protected].

KIDS & TEENSThe Basement Teen Center. Safe drop-in space to hang out, make music, play pool, ping-pong and board games and eat free food. All activities are free. Mon.–Thurs., 2–6 p.m., Fridays 3-10 p.m. Basement Teen Center, 39 Main St., Mont-pelier. BasementTeenCenter.org

Baby & Toddler Story Time. Snuggle with your baby or toddler as we sing, tickle and bounce our

way into a lifelong love of language. Get ready for high-energy literacy with songs, active rhymes and stories. For ages 0–36 months. Mon., 10 a.m. Waterbury Public Library, 30 Foundry St., Waterbury. Free. 244-7036. waterburypubliclibrary.com.

Read to Clara. Sign up for a 20-minute slot and choose your books beforehand to read to this special canine pal. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. Sign up ahead: 223-4665 or at the children’s desk. kellogghubbard.org.

Story Time and Playgroup. With Sylvia Smith for story time and Cassie Bickford for playgroup. For ages birth–6 and their grown-ups. We follow the Twinfield Union School calendar and do not hold the program the days Twinfield is closed. Wed., 10–11:30 a.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marshfield. Free. 426-3581. jaquithpubliclibrary.org.

Story Time for Kids. Meet your neighbors and share quality time with the pre-schooler in your life. Each week we’ll read stories and spend time together. A great way to introduce your pre-schooler to your local library. For ages 2–5. Every Thurs., 10:30 a.m. Cutler Memorial Library, 151 High St., Plainfield. 454-8504. cutlerlibrary.org.

Lego Club. Use our large Lego collection to create and play. All ages. Thurs., 3–4:30 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Mont-pelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.

Preschool Story Time. Join us as we travel to new places through books, puppets and felt boards. We’ll shake our sillies out with move-ment-based rhymes. A craft may be provided. For ages 3–6 years. Fri., 10 a.m. Waterbury Public Library, 30 Foundry St., Waterbury. Free. 244-7036. waterburypubliclibrary.com.

Drop-in Kinder Arts Program. Innovative exploratory arts program with artist/instructor Kelly Holt. Age 3–5. Fri., 10:30 a.m.–noon. River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. 888-1261. RiverArtsVT.org.

Teen Fridays. Find out about the latest teen books, use the gym, make art, play games and if you need to, do your homework. Fri., 3–5 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marsh-field. 426-3581.

Musical Story Time. Join us for a melodious good time. Ages birth–6. Sat., 10:30 a.m. Kel-logg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.

Mad River Valley Youth Group. Sun., 7–9 p.m. Meets at various area churches. Call 497-4516 for location and information.

MUSIC & DANCEBarre-Tones Women’s Chorus. Open re-hearsal. Find your voice with 50 other women. Mon., 7 p.m. Alumni Hall, Barre. 223-2039. BarretonesVT.com.

Dance or Play with the Swinging Over 60 Band. Danceable tunes from the 1930s to the 1960s. Recruiting musicians. Tues., 10:30 a.m.–noon. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. 223-2518.

Monteverdi Young Singers Chorus Rehearsal. New chorus members welcome. Wed., 4–5 p.m. Montpelier. Call 229-9000 for location and more information.

Piano Workshop. Informal time to play, refresh your skills and get feedback if desired with other supportive musicians. Singers and listeners welcome. Thurs., 4–5:30 p.m. Mont-pelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free; open to the public. 223-2518. [email protected].

Ukelele Group. All levels welcome. Thurs., 6–8 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St. 223-2518.

Gamelan Rehearsals. Sun., 7–9 p.m. Pratt Center, Goddard College. Free. 426-3498. [email protected]. [email protected].

OUTDOORSTuesday Morning Nature Walks. with

Marianne Kotch and Suzy Klinefelter. Every Tues. through Sept. 29. 9 a.m. Meet at Barre Town Forest kiosk, 44 Brook St., Websterville. 476-4185. [email protected].

Fall Migration Bird Walks. Come for a morning walk to search for migrating warblers, vireos, tanagers, thrushes and more. Binoculars avail-able for loan. Every Fri. through Oct. 2, 7:30–9 a.m. North Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm St., Montpelier. $10 non-members; free for members and kids. 229-6206. northbranchnaturecenter.org.

RECYCLINGAdditional Recycling. The Additional Recy-clables Collection Center accepts scores of hard-to-recycle items. Mon., Wed., Fri., noon–6 p.m.; Third Sat., 9 a.m.–1 p.m. ARCC, 540 North Main St., Barre. $1 per carload. 229-9383 x106. For list of accepted items, go to cvswmd.org/arcc.

RESOURCESOnion River Exchange Tool Library. 80 tools both power and manual. Wed., 4–6 p.m.; Sat., 9–11 a.m. 46 Barre St., Montpelier. 661-8959. [email protected].

SOLIDARITY/IDENTITYWomen’s Group. Women age 40 and older explore important issues and challenges in their lives in a warm and supportive environment. Fa-cilitated by psychotherapist Kathleen Zura. Every Mon., 5:30–7:30 p.m. 41 Elm St., Montpelier. 223-6564. Insurances accepted.

SPIRITUALITYChristian Science Reading Room. You're invited to visit the Reading Room and see what we have for your spiritual growth. You can borrow, purchase or simply enjoy material in a quiet study room. When we are closed, we have free litera-ture out on the portico, over the bench, for you to read or take with you. Hours: Tues., 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; Wed., 11 a.m.–7:15 p.m.; Thurs.–Sat., 11 a.m.–1 p.m. 145 State St., Montpelier. 223-2477.

A Course in Miracles. A study in spiritual trans-formation. Group meets each Tues., 7–8 p.m. Christ Episcopal Church, 64 State St., Montpe-lier. 279-1495.

Christian Counseling. Tues. and Thurs. Daniel Dr., Barre. Reasonable cost. By appt. only: 479-0302.

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. For those interested in learning about the Catholic faith, or current Catholics who want to learn more. Wed., 7 p.m. St. Monica Church, 79 Summer St., Barre. Register: 479-3253.

Deepening Our Jewish Roots. Fun, engag-ing text study and discussion on Jewish spirituality. Sun., 4:45–6:15 p.m. Yearning for Learning Center, Montpelier. 223-0583. [email protected].

SPORTS & GAMESRoller Derby Open Recruitment and Recre-ational Practice. Central Vermont’s Wrecking Doll Society invites quad skaters age 18 and up. No experience necessary. Equipment provided: first come, first served. Sat., 5–6:30 p.m. Mont-pelier Recreation Center, Barre St. First skate free. centralvermontrollerderby.com.

YOGA & MEDITATIONChristian Meditation Group. People of all faiths welcome. Mon., noon–1 p.m. Christ Church, Montpelier. 223-6043.

Zen Meditation. With Zen Affiliate of Vermont. Wed., 6:30–7:30 p.m. 174 River St., Montpelier. Free. Call for orientation: 229-0164.

Shambhala Buddhist Meditation. Group medi-tation practice. Sun., 10 a.m.–noon; Tues., 7–8 p.m.; Wed., 6–7 p.m. New location: Center for Culture and Learning, 46 Barre Street, Montpe-lier. Free. 223-5137. montpeliershambala.org.

Sunday Sangha: Community Ashtanga Yoga. Every Sun., 5:40–7 p.m. Grateful Yoga, 15 State St., 3F, Montpelier. By donation.

Weekly EventsCalendar of Events

Submit your calendar listing by using our online submission form at

montpelierbridge.com/calendar-submissions ~OR~ send listing to

[email protected] for next issue is Sept. 24.

Send information for events happening Oct. 1–Oct. 17.

The Center for Leadership SkillsBUSINESS & LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Lindel James coaching & consultingTaking You from Frustration to Enthusiasm

802 778 0626 [email protected]


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CLASSESTAI CHI CHUAN:Beginners Class. Cheng Man-ching’s "simpli-fied" Yang-style. Taught by Patrick Cavana-ugh of Long River Tai Chi. Starts Tuesday, September 8th from 7:15 to 8:15pm at Bethany Church, 115 Main Street in Montpelier. For more information, contact Patrick, 490-6405 or email [email protected]. Cost: $65 per month. Registration open until Tuesday, September 29th.

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SERVICESROOFING AND ROOF REPAIRSAL SMITH LLC

Residential and Flat Roof ExpertsRoofing since 1978Shingles, rubber, slate, metalFree estimates. Fully insured.10% senior citizen discount.Call 223-1116alsmithroofing.com

CLASSESMASSAGE:Vermont’s longest operating massage school, The Universal Institute of Healing Arts directed by Bob Onne, offers Wellness, Self-Care and Massage Classes, Tuesdays 6:30-9 p.m., starting Sept. 22 for 10 weeks. The school is located in Middlesex, just outside of Montpelier. Call 802-229-4844, email [email protected] or visit www.Universal-Institute.com for class details.

CLASSESALLIANCE FRANÇAISE: FALL SESSIONEleven-week French classes for adults at our Colchester, Burlington and Montpelier loca-tions. September 21- December 10.Morning sessions available in Colchester. Our classes serve the entire range of students from true beginners to those already comfortable conversing in French.For more information, visit www.aflcr.org or contact Micheline at [email protected] / (802) 881-8826

JOB OPPORTUNITYVERMONT CENTER FOR INTEGRATIVE HERBALISM is seeking an Outreach and Administrative Coordinator. This position is perfect for a marketing professional interested in part-time work in a unique environment. 20 hours/week, Tuesday through Friday 9 am to 2 pm. Application and more information at vtherbcenter.org. Contact us at 224.7100 or [email protected].

WORKSHOPTHE BRIDGE PRESENTS SATURDAY SCRIBESSpend four afternoons in October honing your craft of writing. One workshop features poetry taught by Reuben Jackson host of Friday Night Jazz on VPR. Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24. 1–4 p.m. Workshop takes place at The Bridge office inside VCFA’s Stone Science Hall, 62 Ridge St., Montpelier. $95; $75 if pre-paid by Sept. 30. Must register: 223-5112 ext. 14 or [email protected].

Text-only class listings and classifieds are 50 words for $25.

To place an ad, call Michael, 223-5112 ext. 11.


Have something important to say? We want to hear it!Send it to us at: [email protected]

Stop Industrial Wind DevelopmentWe Must Protect Our Ridgelines, Lakes and Streams by Brian Dubie

In 2009, when I was serving as lieutenant governor, I was invited to the Bolton Valley Ski Area resort for the com-missioning of a wind turbine manufactured by Barre

workers. Its blade height was a very modest 120-feet, and the tower was on a scale to fit in with the ski resort profile. Bolton became only the second ski resort in the country to be powered in part by renewable wind electricity.

In the same year I was asked to assist a proposed project on Georgia Mountain which I did. In the same year I was invited to visit the little mountain town of Ira, in Rutland County. Citizens there were very concerned about the proposed wind power development on their ridges. Unlike the 120 foot tower at Bolton, the proposed Ira project had towers that would overshadow the homes of local residents. As the towers grew ever larger, to catch more wind, my at-titude toward wind towers began to change.

The current generation of wind turbines has ground-to-tip heights of 500 feet. Under certain conditions they can be noisy. The trend is more turbines per site, so the effect is multiplied, especially when there is turbulence.

After these industrial wind projects were built in Sheffield, Lowell and Georgia, I listened to Vermonters whose lives have been affected by having to live under blades that now reach five times the height of the typical Vermont forest canopy. We are talking "War of the Worlds" huge.

Many people report health issues that they attribute to the industrial turbines that were built near them. Some say

they cannot sleep at night because of the noise these huge turbines produce. I have talked to people who have been forced to move out of their bedrooms into other rooms or out of their homes altogether due to noise.

Our laws have recognized, for centuries, that property owners have the right to make peaceful use of their land — so long as such use does not cause spillover effects that harm their neighbors. In my view, no one should have to move out of his or her home because a neighboring land-owner chooses to build an industrial wind project.

There is more to the wind tower issue than aesthetics and health. These towers bring harmful environmental effects as well.

A large turbine requires as much as three acres of impervi-ous pads, like paved parking lots. They require interstate-sized roads to the ridge lines to transport these machines, which will cause serious erosion and will degrade water quality. There will also be harmful effects on wildlife.

It is upsetting to locals when a wind developer with big profit expectations rolls into a town. Such developers bring a large bagful of federal subsidies, and enjoy a state mandate requiring the utilities to purchase their power at above the market price. They hire lawyers, experts, and PR consultants who know the Public Service Board process and can run over a town or a community.

Last May, bipartisan senators tried to require the Public Service Board to give “substantial deference” to local land

use plans relating to large scale wind project applications before the board. The senate voted (against it). As a result, towns can give input, but the power lies with three un-elected people appointed by the governor. There is no local control for energy project siting.

For all of these reasons, I have become committed to sharply increasing the power of local municipalities to regulate — or even prohibit — projects when the negative impact outweighs the benefits.

Renewable energy, for the most part, is a good thing. I support net metering for home-scaled wind and solar, small scale hydro and mining landfills and bio digesters for methane. But at some point, the rush into large scale (subsidized) renewable energy becomes too costly, and too destructive of human and environmental values, to merit continued support.

I ask our legislators to support a moratorium on new wind projects until they can answer how well our existing proj-ects have lived up to developers’ promises, how they've impacted the environment and how they have affected their communities. A hiatus in development would also give us a chance to develop real siting standards, find meaningful ways for our towns to participate and study the regulatory processes of governments that do a better job than we do.

Brian Dubie of Fairfield served as Vermont's lieutenant gov-ernor 2003-2011

(This opinion was edited for length)

Opinion

Reduce Lawn Size to Save the Environment, Time and Money by George Plumb

Deborah Markowitz, writing as secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources and as a Jew, recently wrote about the spiritual responsibility of dealing with climate change. In it, she stated “And with each of us doing ‘something’ we can change

the world.” As a Unitarian Universalist I also try to practice our seventh principle, “Re-spect for the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part.”

One simple thing that many Vermonters can do without any hardship at all is to reduce the size of their lawns. I was astounded recently while bicycle riding in a once farming community in Lamoille County to come upon a massive lawn. As I first approached it, I thought that this community, that I hadn’t been in for many years, must now have a golf course that I didn’t know about. But I soon realized that it was simply a lawn of at least 50 acres!

When I first moved to Vermont in the 60s, lawns were small and primarily in cities and villages. Homes in the country didn’t need lawns because pastures, hayfields, and corn fields grew up close to the house. In the book “The Lawn: A History of an American Ob-session” author Virginia Scott describes how lawns were first introduced to America, be-came popular, and then became a necessity. The book also provides an interesting analysis of how advertising was used to create demand for completely unnecessary products, and how those products, such as lawn mowers and weed whackers, later came to be thought of as indispensable.

Now, as a result of (fewer) small farms, population growth and development, almost as many rural homes have a huge lawn requiring a riding lawn mower. To mow and trim just

one acre of lawn uses approximately 15 gallons of gas each year and each gallon of gas or diesel — resulting in approximately 300 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.

Reducing lawn sizes will not only reduce carbon emissions, it will also help preserve bio-diversity and particularly our birds. Un-mowed fields are essential for bird species such as bobolinks, field sparrows, Savannah sparrows and Eastern meadowlarks.

Un-mowed fields are also important to other wildlife including insects such as monarch butterf lies, crickets and grasshoppers. And mammals such as deer, woodchucks and mice depend, in part, on un-mowed fields. The mice, in return, are food for foxes, hawks and owls. In the last 40 years our Earth has lost about half of its quantity of wildlife. I have personally witnessed much of this loss on much of my own land. Yet, this is an issue that is rarely mentioned by our environmental and political leaders.

I own approximately 45 acres of open land that was once a farm. Using just a push lawn mower I mow about one-third of an acre just around the house as lawn. Some of the other acreage I allow a neighbor to use to pasture their horses. Some of it I let a farmer hay. The remaining 24 acres of open land I brush hog once every two or three years so that it remains open for wildlife. I do clear a path through the fields so that I can walk through them and not worry about ticks.

It is good to keep large tracts of land open, but at least delay mowing until August 1 so that the birds that nest in the fields can do so at least once. If you would like guidance on managing your lawns, fields or woods, technical assistance is available from Audubon Vermont, the National Wildlife Federation, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Yes, let’s each of us do “something.” Some will say large lawns are beautiful. But are they really more beautiful than fields with abundant f lowers and wildlife?

George Plumb, of Washington, Vermont, is a former employee of the Agency of Natural Re-sources.

(This opinion was edited for length

Opinion


Since our beginnings 22 years ago one of our most ardent beliefs has been that almost anyone who can talk can also write.

Over and over again, we have discovered a more than modest writing talent — sometimes a powerful writing talent — coming from teens, elders, adults, from people whose first language is not English, from people who once thought they could never write but had something urgent to say, something they needed to say and write.Why does the blank paper or the empty screen often shut us down? We worry about failure and feel blocked. Or fear we will be harshly judged. Or think that our stuff isn’t going to be good enough.If worry and fear of judgment is the “down side” of writer’s cramp — there is also an “up side” of taking a risk and plunging in.In 1973, British writer and thinker E.F. Schumacher wrote a seminal book, “Small Is Beautiful” — a book that proposed dramatic changes in the way we organize our lives and the economic systems that control much that we do.Schumacher’s book was like fresh air. He became something of a sensation and he launched himself on a lecture and speaking tour that took him eventually to Vermont.I heard him speak. I also tape recorded his remarks. Then I listened to that tape and pounded out a word-by-word transcription on my typewriter.I can’t find the pages of that transcription. But I remember the charming way that Schumacher opened his talk. His lecture tour had taken him to an airport restaurant and he found himself watching a mother and father and their son — a small boy at a nearby table. When the woman who was waiting on the table came to the small boy and asked for his order, the child exclaimed amazed wonder, “She thinks I’m real!”And that brings us to the “up side” of writing, because what happened to that little boy is what happens to someone who has never written for publication when they open a newspaper or magazine and read the story they have written. Suddenly, they are “real” in a way they haven’t been real before.They’ve been writing a message to a friend. Or a grocery list, or a personal diary or a student paper. But in publishing they are writing for people they know and don’t know.Maybe they get stopped in the street and someone says, “I read what you wrote.” Which is gold. Or, “I like what you wrote.” Or, once in a great while, “Your writing changed the way I feel.” Or, “Your writing changed my life.” Which is gold and pearls and diamonds.The Bridge is offering four (three-hour) writing workshops on four Saturdays this October 3, 10, 17 and 24 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.These workshops will be taught by writers and editors of The Bridge along with one or two guest instructors. Guest instructor Reuben Jackson, who is the host of “Friday Night Jazz” on Vermont Public Radio and a published poet (“Fingering the Keys”) will join us on October 24 to lead a workshop on writing poetry.Our focus in the other workshops will be storytelling, writing, reading and discus-sion with the goal of publishing the attendee’s finished work. Our exchanges will be friendly, candid and informal.We’ll talk about what makes a good story — what makes stories pulsate with life.

We’ll take a look at examples of successful writing with attention to what works and what doesn’t work and what can be done to improve a piece of writing that doesn’t work so that it does work.We’ll talk about where a writer stands in relation to the story: the writer as historian, reporter, editorialist, opinion-maker and advocate, the writer as reviewer and critic.

In addition to talking about writing, we will be writing. And we’ll be sharing our writing by reading from our writing out loud and discussing what works, what doesn’t work and what could work.During our fourth and final workshop, poet Reuben Jackson will give us his take on the art of poetry. Jackson taught poetry at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland before moving to Vermont. He is a poet, radio commentator, and music critic who, when he lived in Washington, D.C., was curator of the Smithsonian Institution’s Duke Ellington Collection for 10 years. His poems have been published in Gargoyle, Belt-way Poetry Quarterly, and Indiana Review, and he is the author of a volume of poetry entitled fingering the keys, which won the 1992 Columbia Book Award, according to his bio on writer.org.More recently (currently), Reuben Jackson is the host of Friday Night Jazz on Vermont Public Radio and his poetry is frequently published in The Bridge.

Write for Publication by Joining Us at “Saturday Scribes”

by Nat Frothingham

Editorial

Editor & Publisher: Nat Frothingham Managing Editor: Carla OccasoCalendar Editor, Design & Layout: Marichel Vaught

Copy Editing Consultant:Larry Floersch

Proofreader: Garrett HeaneySales Representatives: Michael Jermyn, Rick McMahan

Distribution: Tim Johnson, Kevin Fair, Diana Koliander-Hart, Daniel RenfroEditorial: 223-5112, ext. 14, or [email protected]: The Bridge office is located at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, on the main level of Stone Science Hall. Subscriptions: You can receive The Bridge by mail for $50 a year. Make out your check to The Bridge, and mail to The Bridge, PO Box 1143, Montpelier VT 05601.Published every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, except in July when we publish the 3rd Thursday only.montpelierbridge.com facebook.com/thebridgenewspapervtTwitter: @montpbridgeCopyright 2015 by The Bridge

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McDonald's Egg Pledge Is a Small Step

Editor:McDonald's pledge last week to start using cage-free eggs is only a small step in prevent-ing staggering suffering endured by millions of birds.Hatcheries that annually supply 200 million female hens for U.S. egg production, includ-ing cage-free, also kill the same number of male chicks at birth by grinding them up alive in industrial macerators or suffocating them slowly in plastic garbage bags. The fe-male laying hens endure a lifetime of misery, crammed with five to six others, in small wire-mesh cages that cut into their feet and tear out their feathers.Eggs are common carriers of food-borne bac-teria, including Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria and Staphylococcus. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that Salmonella alone accounts for 1.3 mil-lion U.S. illnesses and 500 deaths annually.Eggs contain saturated fat and cholesterol, key factors in the incidence of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. They are a com-mon cause of allergies in children.Waste from millions of egg-laying hens ends up in waterways, rendering vast areas un-suited for recreation or water supply.The good news for compassionate, health-conscious, eco-friendly consumers is that our local supermarket offers a number of deli-cious egg substitutes and egg-free food prod-ucts. Entering "egg-free" in a search engine returns tons of recipes.

Maxwell BransetMontpelier

Female/Male Student Phenomena

Editor:Since reading your response to a post I wrote on Front Porch forum about what struck me as the ironic absence of male authorship in the first issue of The Breeze, I've been meaning to thank you for the unfortunately discouraging answer and explanation you provided in the issue of The Bridge before the latest one.Phenomena of the type you describe plus the growing dropout rate among male college students as compared with the impressive rate of females who complete their degrees makes me feel sad. In fact, I've fantasized about forming some sort of committee that with the hopeful cooperation of Montpelier High School staff would act in some sort of advisory capacity to brainstorm how to motivate and keep involved male students of today. I already left a message about this with Andy Leader, author of The Breeze editorial that motivated my Front Porch Forum post. Please let me know if for some reason you, too, might be interested in this or know of anyone else who would.Thanks, also again for publishing my Front Porch Forum post with an answer. I think it's about time concerned citizens tried to do something about all this.

Ron MerkinMontpelier

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In our previous issue, we asked readers where this photo was taken. This was shot on State Street, in front of Julio's and Kismet.

Poetry Sunday Brunch

and where do yourparents summer?

she asked him.the front porch,

he replied.

by Reuben Jackson, host of Friday Night Jazz on Vermont Public RadioFrom his collection “Fingering the Keys” published in 1991


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The Bridge, September 17, 2015